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Mefcitatiuna 
Dior % (Quiet Ijnuc 

BY 

Rev. Edwin Whittier Caswell 


WITH A PREFACE BY 

Arthur B. Sanford, D.D. 



— 

BOSTON 

RICHARD G. BADGER 

THE GORHAM PRESS 










Copyright, 1024, by Richard G. Badger 


ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 




* „ 

Printed in the United States of America 
The Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A. 


MU 16 1924 

©cu? 82888 


Mv I 




Qfo Mg Wlft 

WHO HAS AIDED GREATLY IN THE 
PREPARATION OF THESE 

“MEDITATIONS” 

THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY 
DEDICATED 


/ 



FOREWORD 


The Meditations of this volume have appeared on 
the weekly Meditation page of the Christian Herald 
during the past five years. Many friends of the 
writer have requested that these Meditations should 
appear in more permanent form. Therefore this 
book is given to the public. 
















OJontentfi 


Meditations about the Master . . . . 

Meditations about Individuals . 
Meditations of Home and Family Life 

Meditations upon Melody . 

Meditations upon Memorial Days . . . 

Meditations upon National Subjects . . 

Meditations upon Miscellaneous Themes . 


PAGE 

13 

111 

158 

184 

197 

217 

238 




Preface 


GOOD men never die. In their visible presence 
they may vanish from the sight of their generation, 
yet in their spiritual nearness they abide forever¬ 
more. Their spoken words linger in the memory of 
the surviving like strains of unforgotten music. 
Their written sentiments, if they have left behind the 
products of their pen, are a perpetual and molding 
influence. Shakespeare of the Avon was mistaken 
in declaring that the good which men do passes with 
them to the sepulcher. 

Especially does this helpful influence survive in the 
case of such an exponent of gracious Christian teach¬ 
ing as was Dr. Edwin Whittier Caswell, whose words 
are recorded in the present devotional book. As a 
member of six Annual Conferences of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, scattered over the continent from 
Connecticut to Oregon, his labors for the spread of 
the kingdom were most abundant. In his later years, 
when he had retired from the active pastorate, he be¬ 
came a stated contributor to the columns of the 
Christian Herald, in New York, and notably to the 
page known as “The Daily Meditation.” Ardently 
he had also anticipated the publication of his textual 
studies there found in a more enduring volume. But 
his sudden journey to the better country on August 
21, 1923, prevented the realization of this cherished 
hope; and now it remains for his surviving family to 
fulfill his purpose. 



10 


Preface 


In his last years, the enthusiasm with which he 
pursued his ministry to men through the printed 
page is known to his more immediate friends. He 
had “anticipated many lonely hours” after his retire¬ 
ment from the pastorate, to quote from his semi¬ 
centennial paper before the New York East Confer¬ 
ence of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in 1920. 
But, instead of this, he found himself addressing au¬ 
diences that had “increased from hundreds to mil¬ 
lions,” as his writings were published in the New 
York weekly and were afterward copied in “many 
periodicals of other denominations.” Unseen readers 
were thus added to the list of his numerous former 
friends, with whom he held delightful spiritual com¬ 
munion; and so the zest of his closing occupation 
brought blessing to uncounted believers who must 
now anticipate his heavenly fellowship. 

The reader will discover in the present booklet a 
loyalty to the great fundamentals of the Christian 
faith which is refreshing in the face of the shifting 
beliefs of the present time; a warmth of utterance 
that moves the deepest heart; and a wholesomeness 
of teaching which must strengthen the purpose of 
those who are still in life’s struggle. Not infre¬ 
quently our friend spoke of the exceeding great re¬ 
ward awaiting the faithful in the land beyond the 
stars. So, in comment on Christ’s farewell words at 
the Passover celebration, “Yet a little while I am 
with you”—within a few weeks of Dr. Caswell’s own 
departure—he wrote the following prophetic para¬ 
graph : 





Preface 


11 


Just after the conclusion of the Lord’s Supper, 
Jesus said to the disciples, speaking of His death, 
“Now is the Son of man glorified; only a little while 
I am with you. Love one another, wait till I come for 
you.” How tenderly our Lord was preparing His dis¬ 
ciples for His departure. He was about to leave them 
among the shadows of earth in a very little while; 
then He promised He would take them to Himself 
for the long while. The longest life appears but a 
little while when the shadows of evening are falling; 
life is but a handbreath, a weaver’s shuttle, a day¬ 
dream, a tale that is told. 

Oh, what a few days to do a life work, so as to be 
fitted for the hibitations of immortals! Should we 
not work while it is day, so as to be able to say, at 
evening time, “it is finished”? If we knew how few 
are the days before we are called to the marriage 
supper of the Lamb, how we would improve our 
time. Jesus realized the few remaining hours before 
His crucifixion. A little while! But the glorious 
work of the redemption of a race was nearly com¬ 
pleted. The joy of victory that was set before Him 
filled His being with bliss supreme. He was anti- 
cipting the glory He had with the Father before the 
world was. Is it not so with His followers? Are we 
not thinking of heavenly fellowships, freedom from 
all care, loss, sorrow and sin, the blessedness of face- 
to-face communion at the table of the Lord, all 
coming to us in such a little while, but lasting for¬ 
ever? 

We may not follow Jesus this minute. The inter- 





12 


Preface 


vening time, however, will seem but a moment when 
past, when we shall cry: “There Thou art at last, 
standing at the right hand of the Father, our Lord, 
ready to receive our spirits.” 

How lofty such a sentiment, as an index of the 
workmanship herein included! The many who cher¬ 
ished our departed friend—nor least of all those of 
the New York East Conference, where the present 
writer had known him as a brother beloved—will be 
grateful that these Meditations are now to be gath¬ 
ered in a memorial booklet. A good man never dies. 
Though he is gone, the influence of this devoted 
Christian minister still blesses men and is destined 
to move on in even widening circles. 

“You may break, you may shatter the vase if you will, 
But the scent of the roses will hang round it still.” 

ARTHUR B. SANFORD, D. D., 
Secretary New York East Conference. 





3Heiiitatx0tt0 About Sflje WnzUz 

* 

THE MEDITATIVE MOOD 

Ps. 104:34. “My meditation of Him shall he sweet.” 
William Henry Green, the historian, was accustomed 
to spend the first hour of every day over a page in 
the Psalms. Here he found strength to perform the 
great duties of his career. 

William E. Gladstone said, “On occasions of sharp 
pressure or trial, some word of Scripture came to me 
from my meditations, as if borne on angels’ wings. 
One was ‘O Lord God, thou strength of my heart, 
thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.’ 
Another was, ‘Give thy strength unto thy servant, 
and help the son of thine handmaid.’ ” 

Should we not obey the words of the Master when 
he said to his weary disciples, “Come ye apart to a 
desert place and rest awhile.” In quiet lonely places, 
one meets God face to face. There meditative moods 
have given to men precious treasuries of thought and 
spiritual culture like k Kempis’s Imitation of Christ 
and Bernard’s beautiful songs and writings. 

It is natural for a mariner to watch and study his 
chart and compass, and it is well for the multitude 
of mankind, voyaging over the sea of time, to do like¬ 
wise. 

The ocean is never too full, though it receives 
streams from the mountains and rain from the clouds. 
The soul in meditation ever needs streams of thought 
from the purple mountains of the past and the com¬ 
ing down of Jesus, like the rain from the heavenly 
clouds on the heart. 

Action must follow contemplation because know¬ 
ing without doing hardens the conscience and hurts 
the soul. Continued feeling would overwhelm the 


13 


14 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


mind and paralyze the powers if not expressed in 
obedient exercise. 

Are we not in danger of too wide reading and too 
little thinking? Should we not wait upon the Lord 
more in holy communings, sweet contemplations? 
Saying “My soul wait thou only upon God.” Abide 
under the shadow of His wings and feast upon the 
riches of His Grace. 

TO HDI FOR REST 

Matt. 11:28. “Come nnto me and I will give you 
rest,” Several great artists have pictured our Lord 
with extended arms and loving looks of compassion, 
as he cries to the multitude, weary and heavy laden, 
“Come unto me and I will give you rest.” The Danish 
artist Bloch has portrayed Christ in this attitude 
with a number of persons who have answered his 
invitation and are now closely standing about his 
person. One is a criminal, whose hands are bound 
with chains. He stands in a hesitating way, wonder¬ 
ing if he will be received by the divine Master, 
thinking doubtless in the language of the poet. 

Weary of earth and laden with my sin, 

I look to heaven and long to enter in; 

But there no evil thing may find a home, 

And yet I hear a voice that bids me come. 

Another, who has just touched the robes of Jesus and 
is believingly resting his head upon the person of the 
Christ, has an expression of peacefulness and rest be¬ 
yond words to tell. An old man with his staff sits 
on the opposite side, reclining against his Saviour, 
rejoicing that heaven has come down to earth to 
greet him in his closing years and to open the gates 
of life to his soul. The mother, daughter, and son on 
the left appear filled with ecstasy at this near vision 
of the matchless Preacher. How beautiful for the 
mother to bring the children to him who says, “Son, 
daughter, give me thy heart! ” 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


15 


No richer words ever fell from lips Divine than 
these, “I will give you rest.” We should emphasize 
every word in that immortal sentence, for each word 
stands for an immortality of glory, happiness, and 
blessing for the great family of God. 

THE " WONDERFULNESS ” OF JESUS 

Isa. 9:6. "His Name shall he called Wonderful.” 
Christ is wonderful in prophecy. He was given 
names a thousand years before the Christmas morn¬ 
ing—names descriptive of his living, dying, rising, 
and reigning. He is wonderful in fulfilling more than 
three hundred prophecies regarding himself; wonder¬ 
ful in those yet to be fulfilled; wonderful in his 
miraculous works; wonderful in the experience of 
his followers; not only blind eyes were opened, but 
stone-blind souls. Not only were dead bodies quick¬ 
ened, but men dead in trespasses and sin were raised 
to newness of life. Christ is wonderful in history; 
around Mount Calvary historians have written B. C. 
and A. D., covering all the little arc of time in the 
great circle of eternity. He is wonderful in art and 
learning; take Christ away and you would rob the 
galleries of the nations; erase his name from litera¬ 
ture and libraries would be destroyed. He is won¬ 
derful in His love, which is only His other name for 
God. The music of His love is melodious in nature, 
beautiful in the Bible, glorious in human hearts. It 
is the song of the ages; its thrill has built hospitals, 
homes, churches, and is building mansions in im¬ 
mortal realms. Jesus is wonderful as victor over 
death, hell, and the grave, over nations and king¬ 
doms, over hearts in rebellion. He will be wonder¬ 
ful in his second coming and in his eternal reign. 

We may link together names like Washington and 
Lincoln, but no human name in the sense of equality 
can be united with the name of Jesus. Great and 
noble human beings come into view as the years are 
going by, but there will never be another Christ. 





16 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


CHRISTMI1VDEDXESS 

Phil. 2:5. “Let this mind he in yon which was also 
in Christ Jesus.” Jesus was a humble mind, taking 
the form of a servant, the likeness of men, descend¬ 
ing into the death of the cross from whence God 
hath highly exalted him. His children must take the 
downward way if they would walk with Him on the 
highway of holiness. Have we entered into the fel¬ 
lowship of His sufferings, helped to fill up that which 
was lacking in his afflictions? Are we enjoying the 
hospitality of Christ’s loving, gentle mind, living to¬ 
gether with Him in His heart of compassion? Then 
we are truly possessing the mind that was in Jesus. 
If we are in Christ and Christ in us, it is more than 
a partnership, it is an eternal marriage, united in 
one mind and two personalities. 

Other minds touch and inspire you through speech 
and writing and friendship, but the mind of Jesus 
becomes your home, your guide, your teacher, your 
refuge, yea, your very self. His mind possesses in¬ 
finite rooms where the soul roams and grows to be 
more and more like Him who redeemed you and made 
Himself your dwelling place. 

The knowledge that we dwell in Christ and He in 
us is beyond demonstration to others. Sunlight can¬ 
not be proven by logic but by personal conscious¬ 
ness, by living reality. “We know that we know 
Him,” by dwelling in His blessed thought, by feeling 
His everlasting arms, by loving and being loved. 

In Christ we are members of a vast family who are 
our brothers, united to each other in indissoluble 
bonds and all to God; one in social Christian fellow¬ 
ship, one in aim, purpose, and unending affection. 
Christ’s mind is the author of nature, of all being, 
all worlds, all noble thought, and is the source of 
eternal life. What a dwelling-place for the human 
heart! What an opportunity for almost infinite de¬ 
velopment during all the coming cycles! 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


17 


VICTORY OVER THE WORLD 

John 16:33. “Be of good cheer; I have overcome 
the world.” To the discouraged disciples, Christ's 
stupendous claim must have seemed an illusion or 
an imagination of over-confident hope. The bargain 
and sale of his Master had been consummated by 
Judas. The officers and mob were waiting. The cross 
was on the horizon, the hill of Calvary selected, and 
the new sepulcher prepared. In view of all these 
facts, how wonderful that the Messiah should an¬ 
nounce His triumphant victory over the world, the 
flesn, and the devil! Failure seemed written all over 
His career, but this was the human view. The om¬ 
niscient Christ saw down the ages when the heathen 
would become His for an inheritance, when the isles 
would wait for His law, when the cross would draw 
all men, when the earth would be flooded with glory 
as the waters cover the sea. 

Christ saw that Satan had nothing in Him; He was 
the sinless, spotless Son of the Highest. He had 
overcome every temptation and was about to shed 
His precious blood that the crimson sins of humanity 
might be washed away. He knew that he was pre¬ 
paring the way so that every sinful heart might par¬ 
take of the transfusion of His own life-blood and be 
made partakers of His divine nature, transformed 
into new creatures in Christ Jesus. He knew that 
His victory on Calvary would be the victory of the 
world. 

We know to-day that His conquest of the tomb is 
ours; His ascension is ours; His Holy Spirit’s des¬ 
cent at Pentecost is ours. As He overcame, we may 
become overcomers in Him. He gives us His leader¬ 
ship, His power, His life, so that nothing shall sepa¬ 
rate us from Him. 

We may have our Gethsemanes and Calvarys, but 
“be of good cheer”; in Him we will have peace and 
victory, and we will be satisfied when we awake in 
His likeness. In the desert, we will find a well; on 





18 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


the hillside, a spring; in the wilderness, a rose, and 
on the summit of the Delectable Mountains we will 
find Heaven! 


CLOSE TO CHRIST 

Rom. 12:9. “Cleave to that which is good.” 
“Cleave” is a most intense word. It means as the 
flesh cleaves to the bones of the body; so the Chris- 
tion should cleave to the Christ, grow up with Him, 
a being of living goodness, in a vital, not a mechani¬ 
cal or artificial, union. Goodness is a growth, not 
an external addition to character. Kindness is a 
part of the new man in Christ Jesus, inseparable 
from noble manhood. Goodness is truth and love in¬ 
carnate in the individual. Goodness is godliness, in 
which there is infinite gain to the person. Goodness 
is Christlikeness, for He ever sought out the sinful, 
the lowly, and the troubled, going about to do them 
good. The goodness of Christ was willing to be 
wounded for the transgressors; so we should do 
good to those who despitefully use us. 

“What are the wounds in Thine hands?” “Those 
with which I was wounded in the house of my 
friends.” “Yes, even mine own familiar friend whom 
I trusted hath laid wait for me.” Can we, like Christ, 
seek to overcome evil with good? Feed our hungry 
enemy, quench his thirst and seek his salvation? 

How little we know the great struggle a false 
friend is making to be good; what appetites for greed 
and lust and ambition he is fighting against! If he 
asks for bread, shall we give him a stone? If he 
ask forgiveness, shall we pass by with a look of 
disdain? How contrary that would be to Christ’s 
compassion for the multitude! Is it not well to re¬ 
view the goodness of our Lord often? Behold Him 
where the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, 
the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear and the dead 
are raised up! See Him washing the feet of the dis¬ 
ciples just before He is to wash the sins of the world 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 19 


away in His blood! Go thou and be like Him in good¬ 
ness; work among the lowest of the lost. 

THE SPREADING VINE 

Num. 14:21. “But as truly as I liye, all the earth 
shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” The di¬ 
vine Being proclaimed this prophecy unto Moses. 
In that day of final victory, the Branch of the Lord 
shall be full of fruitage everywhere; “for I will make 
the place of my feet glorious.” When Almighty God 
brought a Vine out of Egypt and planted it in 
Canaan, it was not only to fill all that land, but all 
the world, all the hills and valleys of Palestine and 
of every other country. In every century men have 
repeated the words of the Psalmist when he ex¬ 
claimed, “O Lord, visit this vine, this vineyard of Thy 
planting; make it strong for Thyself.” The church 
of Christ is therefore like a vine growing among all 
peoples. The branches are entwining heathen lands, 
the Gentiles are coming to his glory, the fruit is 
abundant. 

Near Santa Barbara, California, there is a single 
grapevine more than a century old. It covers twelve 
thousand square feet and bears about ten tons of 
grapes every year. It is not one solid trunk at the 
base, but several great limbs rise from the roots, so 
that it takes the arms of two persons to encircle it. 
It will take the whole world to encompass the Christ 
vine, for it is filling all spaces, all hearts among 
mankind. Every true church has this spreading 
power. Like the leaven, we must leaven those next 
to us till the whole is leavened. The fruits of the 
Spirit, love, joy, and peace, are to be given to all the 
race. 

How sad when the little foxes spoil the vines and 
prevent the spreading power! Just your breath on 
the lens of the telescope will keep you from seeing 
the stars. So little sins keep the branches from full 





20 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


development. We should pray for spreading power 
in every church vine, for cleansing, for greater ben¬ 
evolence in giving, that multitudes may be led to go 
into all the world and preach the Gospel to every 
creature. Then the glory of the Lord will fill the 
whole earth. 


PETRIFIED TREES 

Rev. 2:4. “Nevertheless, I have this against thee, 
because thou hast left thy first love.” The church at 
Ephesus had lost its love power since Paul and John 
had been her pastors. It may be that some churches 
to-day are feasting upon the apples of prosperity 
while not caring for the garden of the Lord. It is 
said that the Apostolic Church had power rather than 
influence, while we have more influence than power. 
Peter had neither silver nor gold, but he had the 
divine power of healing for the cripple. It may be 
that pure and undefiled religion has been adulterated 
with wordliness and ease. Some have chosen Ba- 
rabba instead of Christ, evolution instead of revela¬ 
tion. The tree of life in the garden of the Church 
has become like the petrified agate trees of Arizona, 
beautiful to look upon, but with no fruitage and no 
life coursing through their veins. Some churches 
are polished relics of former greatness, soulless 
petrifactions, magnificence in ruins. Wealth may 
adorn, culture and refinement may polish, but the 
spiritual avenues are closed to the inflowing of di¬ 
vine love. How are the mighty fallen! Changed 
into stone, gleaming in galvanized splendor! 

Only repentance and rebaptism will restore such 
to the first love of Christ. God’s ocean tides are ready 
to fill when we are ready to receive. The church is 
not only to make good men better but to make bad 
men good, not only to care for the ninety and nine, 
but search for the wandering one. She should add 
daily such as are being saved to her membership. 
Saving others is a true indication of our own salva- 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


21 


tion. Electricity applied will make the muscles of 
dead animals appear alive; so fine oratory, elegant 
essays, beautiful rhetoric, personal magnetism may 
galvanize spiritually lifeless congregations so they 
will look like life, but they must be quickened with 
divine energy if they are to be numbered among the 
people of the living God. How glorious to know 
that our youth may be renewed like the eagle’s; our 
life saved from destruction, crowned forever with the 
Father’s loving kindness and tender mercies! Our 
guilty conscience may be cleansed, made as peaceful 
as the bosom of Christ, stainless as angels’ robes. 
Without Christ, sin will find you out; with Him, 
never! 


THE CHARGE 

Luke 19:13. “Occupy till I come.” Jesus, like the 
nobleman in the parable of the pounds, has gone to 
the far country. He is coming again in all His glory 
to sit upon the throne of His universal kingdom. At 
His second coming He will wear a crown of glory 
instead of thorns, will have a scepter of victory in¬ 
stead of defeat. He will be living forever more in¬ 
stead of dying on Calvary. Christ’s second coming 
does not mean at death, for in dying we go to Him. 
It does not mean the coming of the Holy Spirit at 
Pentecost. His mission is separate and distinct from 
that of our Lord’s. It is not for us to know the times 
or seasons of His coming, but to do His will, work 
His vineyard, serve His Church, to “occupy till He 
come.” 

We must use the talents given us for His glory, be 
watchful, be ready, be waiting; not as star-gazers, 
but as vigilant, devoted workmen. A busy woman, 
doing her housework, said to Mr. Spurgeon, her 
pastor, “If I had known you were coming, I would 
have been ready.” He replied, “You could not have 
been in better readiness than in faithfully doing your 
work as a housewife. When the Lord Jesus comes 





22 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


suddenly, I hope He will find me doing as you are 
doing, fulfilling the duty of the hour.” Is not service 
the great word of the age to-day? Social srevice, 
Christian service, church service, labor service, soul¬ 
saving service, all such workers are occupying, 
busily waiting for the coming of the Lord, who will 
reward his servants and establish his throne in the 
earth. 


JUSTICE AND MERCY 

Num. 32:23. “Be snre your sin will find yon out” 
Many novelists and liberal theologians love to eluci¬ 
date this text as an evidence that man pays the debt 
of his own sinfulness, as a criminal would suffer in 
prison. Indirectly they convey the idea that there is 
no other way of freedom but punishment, no way of 
the Cross of Christ, no cleansing blood, no purify¬ 
ing power. The ladder to the skies becomes a hu¬ 
man climb altogether. There is no Saviour from the 
pitiless tyrant of sin. Every soul must himself pay 
the uttermost farthing of his debt. “For whatsoever 
a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” But this is 
only one side of Holy Scripture; only half the truth. 
There is a brighter side, a Sun of Righteousness ris¬ 
ing above these clouds of darkness. It is the dawn 
of pardon, peace and victory. Jesus paid our awful 
debt on Calvary as He cried, “It is finished.” Who¬ 
soever will may be free from the debt of sin; the 
prison doors are open, the chains fall off, the soul is 
like a bird flying away to realms of rest. 

We remember that Joseph’s brethren sowed the 
seeds of murder when they cast him into the pit, but 
God’s providence turned that terrible act into a bless¬ 
ing for the family of Jacob: through mercy, they 
reaped what they did not sow. The evil they thought 
to do, God turned into their own salvation from star¬ 
vation. 

God’s higher laws of mercy and compassion find a 
way of deliverance, not by breaking the law of pen- 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


23 


alty but by paying the debt himself. In nature there 
is a law of disease, and a higher law of healing. 
Medicines are provided for renewal and restoration. 
So the one who has sowed his wild oats may have 
a golden harvest of redemption if he becomes peni¬ 
tent and henceforth sows to the Spirit divine. 


THE UNFRUITFUL VINE 

John 15:2. “Every branch in me that hearth not 
fruit, He taketh it away ? and every branch that bear- 
eth fruit, He cleanseth it, that it may bring forth 
more fruit.” A fruitless vine is the most useless 
thing in nature. It is not good for firewood, furni¬ 
ture, building purposes or beauty. A tree may be all 
these without fruit. The vine must bear fruit 
through its branches or it will become a complete 
failure. 

When a branch fails, it is burned or buried. When 
dead portions are cut out, the living branches are 
purged that they may bring forth more fruit. We 
should not shrink at the pruning-knife when held in 
the Gardener’s hands. He will sustain you, however 
deep the knife may go. First, the union, then the 
pruning and purging. It is not the old wood that 
bears the fruit, but the new growth. The old must 
be cut back that the new may be fully developed. If 
the branches could feel and speak, perhaps we could 
hear, “Why am I troubled so? Haven’t I done my 
best in leafing out, spreading, bearing lustrous 
bunches for others to eat?’’ But the lord of the gar¬ 
den would reply, “True, but your large and multi¬ 
plied growth of branches, your riches and accumu¬ 
lation, hinder the production. You must be cut back 
to smaller branches, fewer leaves for richer clusters. 

The disciplining and cleansing are always for lar¬ 
ger fruit-bearing. A vineyard in California, after the 
pruning, to a stranger looks like a lot of little good- 
for-nothing stumps, but the harvest time tells a 





24 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


story of rich and beautiful treasure. Results are 
what the world demands. Much fruit glorifies the 
husbandman and is proof of discipleship. Nothing 
but leaves and branches in the church vine speaks 
of formalism and culture without the vital life and 
power. The words of the Master would be, “Cut it 
down. Why cumbereth it the ground?” 


THE BLESSEDNESS OF SERVICE 

Acts 10:38. “Who went about doing good.” “Were 
you ready to die, that you jumped into a stormy sea 
to save that child’s life?” said a gentleman to a 
sailor. “Should I have been better prepared, sir,” 
the sailor replied, “if I had shirked my duty?” Do¬ 
ing one's duty is the noblest kind of readiness for 
death. This was the mission of our Lord: healing, 
saving, restoring, and redeeming. “I come to do 
Thy will, O God.” To release the captive, to com¬ 
fort all that mourn, to give beauty for ashes. Christ’s 
followers are commissioned to carry on His king¬ 
dom in the salvation that saves. We should have 
the spirit of compassion for the multitude, the bur¬ 
den for souls, the willingness to suffer, that we may 
help and comfort our brothers. 

To be right and do right is a crown of glory that 
brightens in this world. What opportunities are be¬ 
fore the Christian world to-day! Millions of our fel¬ 
low men are in hunger and pain, are homeless and 
friendless. We should go or send to their reliet 
Don’t say, “How shall I? Who is my neighbor?” Go 
and help immediately. You are your brother’s keeper; 
Therefore hurry to his relief. The needy world waits 
for saviours; be one. 

It will not do merely to express a sigh of pity, a 
tear of sympathy; you must extend the personal 
touch. Then you will bless three—yourself, the 
needy one, and the Christ. Let us seek after the lost 
as Columbus sought for a lost continent, as Edison 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


25 


has searched for the wonderful forces of nature. 
What matters it if you suffer martyrdom for your 
belief and ambition? Remember, you are in a noble 
society, with Socrates poisoned, Paul beheaded, and 
Huss burned. These are they that came up out of 
great tribulation, but they came victors, with the 
cross carved upon their scepters of triumph and 
shining on their crowns of glory. They were more 
than conquerors, through Him that went about doing 
good! 


WHEN THE BLIND SEE 

John 9:25. “One thing I know, that whereas I was 
blind, now I see.” It is not an argument, but a fact 
of experience that this blind man proclaims. He has 
a short creed, “I can see.” But it is a creed that has 
become a part of himself. He felt the light as it 
flashed into his mind, revealing all the wonders of 
nature, the faces of dear ones and the glories of the 
heavens. From this one fact of experience the fu¬ 
ture development of his knowledge was to grow like 
a tree, rooted in the soil of consciousness. 

Is it not so with the Christian experience of life 
in Christ? He knows that he has passed from death 
unto life; old things are passed away, all things be¬ 
come new. He says with Paul, “Have I not seen 
the Lord?” or with the disciples, “Did not our hearts 
burn within us as He talked with us by the way?” 
Does not every soul in the light of that first experi¬ 
ence cry out, “Lord, what wilt Thou have Me to do?” 
The eye of faith beholds the Lamb of Calvary. That 
first spark of life now glorifies the whole being. The 
blind man could not explain the philosophy of see¬ 
ing; he only knew the fact. He had not studied the 
doctrine of Christ’s divinity, but was absorbed in 
the power of Him who opened his eyes. The most 
unlettered and ignorant may know the power of the 
cleansing blood, the blessedness of pardon and peace, 
but cannot explain the why and the how of salva- 






26 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


tion. Let Jesus, the Light of the world, come into 
your heart and you will know the beauty of that light 
which transforms your soul forever. 

SPIRITUAL HELIOGRAPHS 

Matt. 5:14. “Ye are the light of the world.” As 
the moon and planets are perfect reflectors of the 
light of the sun, so the Christian is the transmitter 
of the light divine, the illuminator of social life, busi¬ 
ness life and the religious life of men. We are more 
than reflectors—we are the light as it is in Jesus, 
shining in His world that men may be led to glorify 
your Father which is in heaven. 

If we cannot become a great light-house, flashing 
its beams far out on the ocean of life, we can truly 
shine like a candle to single individuals along the 
shore. “You in your little corner and I in mine.” 
Some Christians, like the moon, only occasionally 
are luminous with the full front; they have spells 
of shining. Not like John the Baptist, who was a 
bright and shining light every moment of his life. 
When a light-house fails, boats are dashed on the 
rocks and wrecks float along the shore. When the 
Christian fails to trim his lamp by prayer, and keep 
it full of the oil of grace, how great and terrible is 
the darkness for perishing mortals who are feeling 
after God. Christians are miniature Christs to men. 

Centuries ago, in London, it was the custom for 
the crier on the streets to say, “Hang out your light.” 
So Christ says to all His followers, “Put not your 
light under a bushel,” but let it flame forth, for light 
means life, warmth, beauty, growth, happiness, and 
heaven. 

Be apostles of sunshine, help scatter away the 
darkness, ushering in the morning of beauty and 
victory. Night means trouble and sorrow; only the 
stars save the night from despair. Be children of 
the light, for fulness of joy comes with the Day¬ 
spring from on high. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


27 


GOD’S PROMISES 

II Peter 1:4. “Whereby are given nnto us exceeding 
great and precious promises.” The promises of God 
in Christ are the golden cords which bind the books 
of the Bible together, reaching from Eden to Para¬ 
dise. The Old and New Testaments are the cove¬ 
nants of promise by which the Almighty Father be¬ 
queaths His infinite inheritance to His believing 
children. Patriarchs and prophets were called and 
promised by Him who could not lie, who sealed His 
word with an oath that you might have a strong con¬ 
solation, saying, “Though your sins be as scarlet 
they shall be as snow; come unto Me and I will 
give you rest.” “I go to prepare a place for you and 
will come again to receive you to Myself.” These 
enduring words are the pillars of truth in the temple 
of the Highest. Great promise leads us to become 
partakers of the divine nature, to pillow our heads 
upon such restful words as “him that cometh unto 
Me, I will in no wise cast out.” 

Promises are God’s checks upon the sacrifice of 
His Son, sufficient to cover all our need. An un¬ 
used check is useless; it must be presented and en¬ 
dorsed by faith in order to payment. It makes 
no difference who presents the paper; he may be 
the most worthless and guilty of mortals. God’s 
promises of redemption will be honored at the bank 
of heaven, or the universe would be bankrupt. This 
draft is certified by the name and the blood of Jesus 
and will be cashed as sure as God lives. His riches 
are unsearchable, illimitable, both in material and 
spiritual treasures, and will never grow less because 
of his gifts. Remember, he that asketh, receiveth; 
seeketh, findeth. Aspiration means realization. Over 
these counters, guilt is exchanged for pardon, sorrow 
for joy, hunger for fullness and satisfaction, poverty 
for riches, and hell for heaven. 





28 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


GOD’S TRUE TEMPLES 

Ps. 132:4, 5. “I will not give sleep to mine eyes, 
nor slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place 
for the Lord, a habitation for the mighty God of 
Jacob.” The soul being the temple of the Holy 
Ghost, a true worshipper will find anywhere, every¬ 
where, and in everything among our Father’s crea¬ 
tions the dwelling place of the Most High, where the 
devotional man or angel may worship, love, and 
adore. 

Jacob found his Bethel in a rude hillside, which 
became to him the house of God and the gate of 
heaven. Moses found the burning bush a sacred spot 
where God spoke to him in holy communion and 
command. In all ages, to one whose eyes had been 
opened, the groves are God’s temples, and every 
bush is afire with divine flame. Where children 
play and men toil, where streets are crowded and 
cars are laden, in marts of business or on the wide 
ocean of commerce all may become the court of the 
Lord, the meeting-place with the Almighty. 

Notwithstanding this glorious truth, we know that 
Almighty God in special places of worship dedicated 
to himself a meeting-place between great congrega¬ 
tions and the All-Father. He who hath made every¬ 
thing beautiful in nature would have His sacred 
dwelling-place the noblest and most attractive of city 
or town; therefore the gorgeous temple at Jerusa¬ 
lem became the centre of Jewish worship. Here 
Isaiah saw the King in His beauty, high and lifted 
up, and exclaimed, as the altar fire burned in his 
heart, “Here am I, send me!” Let us remember 
that nothing is too costly or too beautiful built by 
men for the worship of Almighty God. 

THE DIVINE LODESTAR 

John 12:32. “And I, if I be lifted up from the 
earth, will draw all men unto me.” Our Lord came 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


29 


unto His own and they received Him not; but cer¬ 
tain Greeks said, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” Jesus 
said, “He that seeth Me seeth Him that sent me”; 
also, “He that loveth his life shall lose it. If any 
man serve Me, let him follow me.” The words, “I 
will draw all men unto Me” would have been a won¬ 
derful saying if Christ had only meant those of His 
own people; but how grand and Godlike when He 
includes all races and all generations of mankind! 
Jesus did not mean that all men would become His 
followers; the magnet of the Cross draws toward 
Him, but all do not believe in Him, even when they 
know He is the divine Saviour. Some of Christ’s 
noblest expressions were to those outside the Jewish 
people, such as the woman of Samaria, the Syro- 
Phoenician woman, and many others. 

The prophets saw in the coming Saviour this 
drawing power when they wrote, “Unto Him shall 
the gathering of the people be”; “Unto Thee shall all 
flesh come”; “And kings shall come to Thy light 
and nations to the brightness of Thy rising.” 

His power to hold you and protect you, to bless 
and to save, is equal to His power to draw you. “He 
will hold me fast” in the embrace of His everlasting 
arms. Do not resist Him; yield to be drawn to His 
bosom by the magnet of love divine. 


CAMOUFLAGING THE SOUL 

Rom. 7:24. “0 wretched man that I am! who 

shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Sin 
is like a dead body, ever dragging the soul down. 
It is an ever present evil dwelling within and with¬ 
out the manhood. Paul’s way of freedom from the 
monster was through Jesus Christ the Lord, “who 
hath made us free from the law of sin and death.” 
Hell is where sin is; heaven is where love is. Sin 
must appear to be sin before it is removed. The 
soul must cry out, “Against thee, and thee only, have 





30 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


I sinned.” Sin is wilful disobedience to God and His 
laws. To eat the forbidden fruit and excuse your 
fall by saying, “Evil, be thou my good,” is to pre¬ 
sume against the Almighty. Mercy is often hoped 
for as one plunges deeper into sin. How terrible to 
make the goodness of God a reason for continuance 
in evil ways! Some say, “I can be forgiven on a dy¬ 
ing bed, and thus secure the pleasures of both earth 
and heaven;” but such presumptions only sink one 
into deeper perdition. Such hopes are vain. 

Riches, honors, pleasures, camouflage the soul’s 
real condition. It is equivalent to saying, “I have 
much goods, lofty honors, great influence; soul, take 
thine ease, be merry. All is well that ends well. I 
can make my peace with God at last. He is love and 
mercy.” But at the last, sin hardens the heart till 
it is past feeling, and the Holy Spirit of God, ceasing 
its strivings, takes its everlasting flight. 


THE HAIL OF THE MARINERS 

Psalm 107 : 30. “So He bringeth them to the de¬ 
sired haven.” It is customary in passing ships on 
the ocean, to cry out, “Whither bound? Where from? 
Under what flag?” Such words of friendship are 
cheering on the wide, wild billows of the sea. It is 
said that it is customary for every English Christian 
sailor to hail any companion English vessel with the 
words, “494, sir.” Immediately the reply is received, 
“6 farther on.” The meaning of the signal is that in 
the sailor’s hymn-book, 494 is Fanny Crosby’s hymn, 
“Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine,” and 6 farther 
on, or No. 500, is “God Be With You Till We Meet 
Again.” We are all sailing over life’s ocean and 
may well follow the example of the sailors and sing 
welcome and farewell as we come and go, passing 
each other in the great work of life. We are all 
bound for one haven, one city of God. We are citi¬ 
zens of the same heavenly country, under the guid- 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


31 


ance of one Captain, blood relatives of our Father’s 
family. Have we not every reason for being friendly, 
cheering each other onward, remembering that 

“ Jesus reigns o’er thee, 

Calm land beyond the sea! ” 

We are voyaging over the ocean of unchanging 
Truth. “He hath founded righteousness upon the 
seas and established it upon the floods.” The earth 
is full of changes, but the sea is ever the same, like 
sunligjit and air. Man trusts the waters as he floats 
his commerce upon all oceans; so he should trust 
the sea of divine Truth. There are no wrinkles upon 
its brow, no age or fickleness in its movement. From 
everlasting to everlasting, it is the same. 

How many are drifting over life’s ocean without 
captain or compass, liable any day to strike rocks, 
bergs or shoals, the prey of fogs, storms and dark¬ 
ness! Remember that the old ship Zion never lost 
a passenger, for it bringeth them to the desired 
haven! 


A VERY PRESENT HELP 

Psalm 50 : 15. “Call upon Me in the day of 
trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify 
Me.” This was the text of Scripture that comforted 
Robinson Crusoe when cast upon a desert island, 
alone and helpless. It was the means of his con¬ 
version, his salvation from despair and his future 
reliance upon the divine Being. What Defoe pic¬ 
tures in his matchless story every sinful, ship¬ 
wrecked soul experiences who finally comes to 
prayer and to trust in the Son of God. Think of the 
multitudes of.outcasts in the deserts of sin in our 
great cities. They are broken in mind and spirit, 
friendless, homeless and forsaken. Would that all 
might, like Jerry McAuley and Hadley, gather 
strength enough to call upon the Lord, who is able 
to deliver them. “Look unto Him, all ye ends of the 





32 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


earth.” Look and live, look and fall toward Cal¬ 
vary’s Cross, and you will rise again in hope and 
happiness. 

It is your loving heavenly Father who speaks to 
you, saying, “My child, call upon Me in your day of 
trouble. I am your Redeemer; I am the Lifter up 
of the fallen; I will deliver you and you shall glorify 
Me! ” Therefore, roll your burden on the Lord who 
careth for you. Your mighty Deliverer is honored 
in your confidential pleading, in your full surrender, 
in your risen life in Him. You may glorify Him in 
your body and spirit, which are His. You may re¬ 
flect the beauty of His holiness and tell the wonder¬ 
ful story of His love. Oh, can it be that you shall 
help to glorify God? You shall increase the bright¬ 
ness of his shining in the hearts of lost ones. You 
shall lead souls into His kingdom who shall shine as 
the stars forever. Hear Him whisper to thee, a 
poor lost sinner, “Thou shalt glorify Me!” Shall it 
be so? 


“ THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOYE ” 

Eph. 4 : 15. “But speaking the truth in 1076.” It 
is not enough to tell the truth; a gentle compas¬ 
sionate spirit should accompany the proclamation. 
Let the words of truth come down like the life-giv¬ 
ing raindrops on the earth, not like hailstones, de¬ 
stroying everything they touch. A Christian worker 
once said to an enthusiastic evangelist, “You fight 
for the Lord as though the devil was in you.” It 
must be Christianity in love as well as in earnest. 
Hearts burning with love for men will find other 
hearts among the auditors; heart answers to heart. 
Justice must be tempered with mercy to reach lost 
ones. Obedience is slavery without loving devotion. 
Worship is formal and prayer is cold unless the 
heart goes out to the heart of our heavenly Father. 
He who is love itself must have love to reciprocate 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


33 


His affection. God’s love may burn with pain in the 
conscience of the sinner, but it is the love that gave 
Jesus to save from eternal burnings. It is the con¬ 
suming fire that burns up the dross of sin and makes 
the soul a palace for the King. 

Great truths, tempered with love, winged with 
mercy, become messages of salvation to multitudes. 
Nations should speak the truth in love to each other; 
they are our brothers in the great family of all peo¬ 
ple. Without love we are nothing! We are only as 
sounding brass or tinkling cymbals, though we may 
have the tongue of an angel, if we have not love 
clothing the truth we utter. God commands thee to 
love thy neighbor as thyself; thy neighboring nation, 
thy friend and brother. 


THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES 

John 15:5. “I am the Vine, ye are the branches.” 
Is not this the most beautiful figure among all 
Christ’s nature pictures? More complete and inti¬ 
mate than the shepherd and the sheep, the body and 
the head, the water and the bread, the sun and the 
light, or the sower and the seed. How beautiful the 
words, “I am the Vine,” the one original Source. 
“Ye are the branches, a part of Myself. You de¬ 
pend on Me for life; I depend on you for fruit. We 
are absolutely and forever one; I am not a vine 
when deprived of branches, you are not branches 
when severed from me.” 

We live by His life and He lives by our fruit bear¬ 
ing. As He is, so are we in this world, pure as He 
is pure, fruitful as He is all powerful, happy when 
the wine of joy flows to fruitage and victory. 

The stalk and the root and the branches make up 
the vine, and all are one in Him. We are joint heirs 
with Him to His riches, as the branch is heir of the 
stem. We are of one kin, one brotherhood, one 
family. If the branch is harmed, the vine feels it, 





34 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


with loving, healing compassion. If the vine is as¬ 
sailed, the branches respond with enduring devotion, 
affection and appreciation. O Thou Christ divine, 
who gives us strength to bear fruit unto life eternal 
and be one with Thee at the great harvest time, one 
at the heavenly table, when we drink the wine anew 
at the marriage supper of the Lamb. 


THE CROSS 

Gal. 5 : 11. “Then hath the offense of the cross 
been done away.” How can there be an offense of 
the cross? For the cross is a golden figure upon 
our churches, an ornament upon our person, em¬ 
bossed upon our Bibles, and is an emblem of the 
sacrificial service and suffering of the Son of God 
for the world. But the cross means the crucifixion 
of the flesh, the surrender of the affections, the con¬ 
trol of the passions. Therefore Calvary is a terror 
to the devotees of sinful pleasure. Men put Christ 
to death to escape the condemning light of His char¬ 
acter. Sin looks awful before the face of the suffer¬ 
ing Saviour; its terrible burden bore Him to His 
death. The way of the cross is the way of self- 
denial, of enduring shame for His name and being 
partakers of His suffering. It is therefore contrary 
to the natural heart to love the way of the cross. We 
see no beauty in His blood till it cleanses our sin 
away, no glory in the Christ till it makes us one with 
Him in the love of the Father. 

The inside of the cross is white, pure, and beauti¬ 
ful; there is hidden the face of Him who is alto¬ 
gether lovely. There is beheld the glory of His 
throne, the beauty of His heaven. The cross then 
becomes such a burden as sails are to a ship or 
wings are to a bird. In bearing the cross it bears us 
and lifts us up among the white-robed throng washed 
in the blood of the Lamb. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


35 


The cross changes the relationship between God 
and man. It gilds the hymns of the Church, it glori¬ 
fies the Holy Communion Supper, showing forth His 
death till He comes again. The cross is our ladder 
to the skies, our pathway to the Highest. To die at 
the cross is to live forevermore with Him, where this 
mortal shall put on immortality and this life receive 
grander, wider vision in His universal realms. 


THE VISION THAT STATED 

Psalm 40 : 8. “I delight to do Thy will, 0 my God.” 
Duty and desire are often conflicting emotions. 
Obedience to the call of duty is evidence of the lar¬ 
gest nobility of character. The slacker seeks safety 
in the sheltered nooks of private security when home, 
family, and the nation are in peril. Duty, the grand¬ 
est word in the heart of heroism, has no place in 
his vocabulary. He has no thought of laying down 
his life for his friends, and much less for his ene¬ 
mies, as his Master did on Calvary. How quickly the 
superficial friend draws back when your own char¬ 
acter or life is put on the dissecting-table by your 
foes! 

Only in true hearts does duty blossom into ardent 
desire to help and defend. The noblest Christian 
spirit gives itself to rescue the lowest outcast prodi¬ 
gal; sits with him at the Father’s table, rejoicing in 
his redemption. The religion of cold morality 
springing from the desire of self-protection is a 
weakling beside the true Christian hero. Christ- 
likeness is sympathetic, tender, loving toward the 
fallen. Jesus is the great Physician who comes to 
the sick, wounded and suffering. 

It is said that a monk in his cell at prayer had a 
glorious vision of his Lord. Just then the bell rang 
for him to go and distribute bread to the poor at the 
gate. The monk was sorely tried as to whether he 
should lose the vision, but finally went on his errand 






36 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


of mercy. When he returned, the vision remained, 
more glorious than before. The bell that called mil¬ 
lions to the hill of Calvary in Europe and to suffer¬ 
ing and sacrifice everywhere is the bell that brings 
the fullest vision of our Lord Jesus Christ and His 
matchless love. 

THE ARMOR OF GOD 

Eph. 6 : 14. “Having on the breastplate of right¬ 
eousness.” When everything seems against you, the 
whole armor of God is your defense. Thus pano¬ 
plied, you will quench all the fiery darts of the 
enemy and be able to stand fast against an evil 
world. The breastplate means a coat of mail, pro¬ 
tecting the vital parts of the body. Put on right¬ 
eousness always, not your own good deeds, but 
Christ’s purity and power. Faith in Jesus armors 
one with invincible protection. Christ before Pilate 
could have delivered himself. No power could harm 
the eternal Redeemer, who is just, righteous and 
true. He is perfect man and perfect God; wearing 
the robes He gives you, no harm can enter your be¬ 
ing. Men may kill the body, but cannot touch the 
soul. Clothed in his likeness, the law has no claim 
upon you, for Christ is the Judge administering 
penalty. Behind Him you are shielded. He puts 
His arms of love and power around every guilty sin¬ 
ner and proclaims his freedom through his pre¬ 
cious blood. However weak you are, you are strong 
in Him. O glorious righteousness of the Son of God! 
It is yours forever; nothing can separate you from 
Him while eternal ages roll. The great Protector 
has wrapped you in His robes. 

It is not an external breastplate, but woven into 
your very nature. He has imparted himself to your 
being, transforming your spirit into angelic beauty, 
made one with himself. He covers you from the sins 
of the past, the temptations of the present and the 
fears of the future. ^ 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


37 


HOPE 

1 Thess. 5 : 8. “And for an helmet, the hope of sal¬ 
vation.” The helmet protected the warrior’s head, so 
hope removes fear and trembling, making the Chris¬ 
tian soldier strong in the confidence of victory. Hope 
is half the battle; it is like the inspiration of music 
to marchers; it helps to lift one.’s eyes to the hills, 
whence cometh our strength. Hope beholds the 
power within the veil, where the Forerunner dwell- 
eth, where the anchor of hope holds. Hope refuses 
to look on the dark side, seeing only light and lib¬ 
erty beyond. Hope never studies the lesson of re¬ 
treat, but ever moves forward, following the beck¬ 
oning beam of heavenly shining. Hope is the angel 
of the inventor and discoverer, as well as of the 
soldier and Christian. When men lose hope, they 
faint and perish. Then the dynamo is broken, the 
fire is dead, the light has gone out. 

Therefore we are saved by hope. Christ is in the 
soul as a present experience and a glorious hope of 
immortality. We are more than conquerors, thrilled 
with this divine expectation. Hope makes us more 
and more like Him in resurrection life and spotless 
beauty. 

The Beloved John is called the apostle of love; 
Peter and Paul, of hope; James, of faith; but all are 
one in Christ. Hope is the anchor, faith the cable, 
and love the Rock of Ages. 

Hope is the helmet crown on the brow of the other 
graces. He who hath this hope purifieth himself 
even as Christ is pure. He dwells already in the be¬ 
ginnings of his inheritance. The flames of hope from 
his helmet crest illumine the dark valley; in age and 
feebleness the battle is over, the fight is won; hope 
has enabled you to keep the faith, to win the crown 
as morning dawns on the shining shore of the haven. 
Let us protect the head with hope, for it is where 
thought dwells, where plans are made, will decides. 





38 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


conscience directs, and reason works. Losing the 
head, we lose all; for head and heart are one. 


“THIS GREAT AND WIDE SEA” 

Psalm 107 : 23, 26. “They that go down to the sea 
in ships.” “They mount np to the heaven, they go 
down again to the depths.” The sea in its immensity, 
wild wastes and unexplored depths is full of mys¬ 
tery. How many went out with the tide the past 
few years and never returned again! They sleep in 
the depths of the deep blue sea, while millions of 
homes are desolated. They rest from their labors 
till they rise with us in the deathless life. 

Some have said prayers and dropped wreaths of 
flowers over the sea where the ship went down, 
while the minor moan of solemn music from the 
rolling waves and winds joined in the funeral an¬ 
them. Only a plank is between us and those in¬ 
visible, mysterious depths where lie unconfined our 
dear ones. What revelations the sea could make of 
its unsearchable riches, argosies of treasure, West¬ 
minster Abbeys of the loved and great! 

The ocean mirrors God as grandly as any object 
in the natural world. No syndicate disputes your 
right of way across its waters. “Whosoever will 
may come,” is the sea’s free call to all nationalities. 
God’s path is in the great waters. He goeth before 
thee; His love is measureless as the great deep and 
as munificent. The sea bares its vast bosom to the 
sun, that all climes may be blessed with the mists of 
the morning, the verdure and beauty of field and 
forest. Without the ocean the earth would be a 
planet of barren rock. Christ is the sun of right¬ 
eousness, shining upon the ocean of God’s love. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 39 


REDEEMING THE TEARS 

Eccles. 3 : 15. “God requireth that which is past.” 
The Christian evil past is under the blood of cleans¬ 
ing; his sins are blotted out, cast into the depths of 
the sea of oblivion, while his past good works will 
increase his eternal reward. Do we sigh, like Lord 
Byron, over a wasted past, or do we say with Solo¬ 
mon, “All is vanity and vexation of spirit,” or with 
Goethe,” “I have scarcely tasted twenty-four hours of 
happiness in all my career of eighty-four years”? 
We should remember that wasted yesterdays may 
be redeemed, not lived over again, but forgiven, so 
that to-day and to-morrow may be what you wish 
yesterday had been. 

All must answer for their sinful past unless hidden 
with Christ in God. He is our only hope of glory. 
Our first duty is to receive Him and follow Him 
forever. He will guide you out of the old path into 
the new life and become your unfailing Friend in all 
coming days. He is the Healer of lacerated hearts, 
shadowed by bereavement and anguish. He is a liv¬ 
ing, personal Companion. 

There need be no lamentation when dwelling in 
Him. The present will be full of comfort, the future 
bright with hope, and your life one of eternal spring¬ 
time. Oh, what a boon is existence when we rea¬ 
lize that our heavenly Father waits for our home¬ 
coming, our Elder Brother is to be our eternal Com¬ 
panion and the Spirit of God is to be forever with 
us, while ministering angels whisper words of cheer, 
waving beckoning hands of welcome as we approach 
the golden shore! 


THE ALL-SUFFICIENT GRACE 

II Cor. 12 : 9. “My grace is sufficient for thee.” 
Grace is a free gift; it is divine favor from the heart 
of infinite mercy and boundless love, manifested in 





40 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


the human soul. Grace is the riches of God poured 
into the poverty of man. When all else fails, we 
may truly exclaim, “Thou remainest; thou art the 
same.” Thy years and love shall not fail. The heav¬ 
ens shall wax old and perish, but Thou, O Christ, art 
alive forevermore! 

Is not such grace sufficient for thee in the midst 
of all ills, trials and difficulties? Grace is not medi¬ 
cine given for healing; it is the Physician himself. 
“I am thy healer; My presence will go with thee. 
Cast thy burden upon me; I will sustain thee.” 
Christ does not go and come, like an earthly healer. 
He is with us always. We shall need His perpetual 
supply of grace in the ages immortal, just as we do 
here. 

To be without Christ in great sorrows and strug¬ 
gles, we are filled with discontent, misery and de¬ 
spair; we cannot comfort or save ourselves. We are 
finite, He is infinite. He can make us perfect, as He 
is perfect, in moral loveliness. He cleanses the soul 
into whiteness, fills every longing vacuum, solves 
every mysterious problem of life. Is not His gra¬ 
cious presence better than removing little pains, ob¬ 
stacles and troubles? All His wisdom, power and 
holiness go with His grace. Is not the gold mine 
greater than the current coin? Is not the fountain 
better than the little drops poured into our cup of 
sorrow? 


SLEEP 

Psalm 127 : 2. “He giveth his beloved sleep.” 
Sleep seems a waste of time to many active people. 
They associate sleep with the sluggard, and there¬ 
fore retire late and rise early; whereas sleep and 
rest are as divinely ordered as toil, or as night and 
day. 

Death is made beautiful by being called a sleep; 
we sing “Asleep in Jesus”; we read, “Stephen fell 
asleep”; “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth.” We shrink 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


41 


from death, but when weary we welcome sleep, not¬ 
withstanding how much alike they are. In both we 
sink away into unconsciousness, letting go of every¬ 
thing visible, trusting that we shall awake in the 
morning in safety and delight. We have believed 
that ministering angels will watch over us and 
awaken us. Every night the whole world of being 
surrenders into the arms of Him who giveth sleep. 
If our day could be a repetition of the night, then 
our faith and soul surrender would be complete. We 
trust to the Spirit of the Almighty hovering over us 
when we give up to the embrace of sleep; we are 
then as helpless as the child in the cradle. 

Rest is the luxury of life, restoring all wasted en¬ 
ergies. It is like a new birth to manhood. All diffi¬ 
cult thoughts and problems have a solution in the 
morning when the mind is clear and the aching heart 
ceases to pain. How can we be willing to receive 
such priceless gifts from the Infinite in the sleeping 
hours while we resist and oppose him in the day, 
the only time our will can assert itself? He who 
keeps the world going in the sunlight will care for 
all things while you sleep between the days. “He 
that keepeth thee will not slumber.” He will pre¬ 
serve thy lying down and thy rising up, thy going 
out and thy coming in, from this time forth and even 
forevermore. 

Is this not the prayer we never outgrow—“I pray 
the Lord my soul to keep”? We know we can do but 
little to keep either soul or body, during night or 
day. His hand, like a mother’s on the brow, soothes 
to sleep the weary child, and his lips kiss us awake 
with the morning light. He is nearer than lover, 
parent or friend; he will awaken us in the eternal 
morning when we shall rest without slumber, having 
day without night forevermore. 





42 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


THE KING'S PATIENCE 

Rev. 1 : 9. “I, John, your brother and companion 
with yon in tribulation, and the kingdom and patience 
of Jesus Christ.” The true kingly rule is one of pa¬ 
tience. Christ’s life is a picture of patience beyond 
the skill of artists to portray. No quality of charac¬ 
ter stood forth in bolder relief. Behold Him in His 
all-night trial. “As a sheep before her shearers is 
dumb, so He openeth not His mouth.” When chas¬ 
tised and bruised for our iniquities, He is silent. 
When in the agony of the cross, He cries, “Father, 
forgive them.” Perfect patience is written over all 
our Lord’s life. 

He was the Great Physician in a world hospital 
where were the wounded, sick, and dying. In the 
midst of such suffering, requiring His sympathy, at¬ 
tention, and healing touch, He manifested the most 
sublime and tender patience. He had crowds every¬ 
where attending Him, whom He patiently served, 
with words of comfort for the troubled, food for the 
famishing, healing for the sick, life for the dead, 
and pardon for the sinful. Listening ever to the 
moans of suffering, the cries of the needy, the shrieks 
of maniacs, He was the one matchless incarnation 
of long-suffering compassion. When His enemies 
were plotting for His life, trying to entrap Him in 
His speech or in His miraculous works, He was calm 
as heaven, peaceful as God. When misunderstood by 
His own disciples, He was patient as a mother with 
her child. He endured, waiting for His Calvary, His 
Easter, His Olivet farewell. He looked down the 
ages for the final triumph of His kingdom. He came 
to Patmos to let His beloved disciple catch a vision 
of the city of God coming down out of heaven to be 
established in a new earth wherein dwelleth right¬ 
eousness. After patient waiting cometh triumph; 
after Nero and the Roman Empire which banished 
John, comes the King of kings and Lord of lords, 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


43 


who will reign over all kingdoms and peoples and 
tongues. 


THE SECOND APPEARING 

Matt. 24 : 44. “Be ye also ready, for in such an 
hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh. ,, As 
sure as the Word was made flesh and dwelt among 
us and we beheld His glory, Christ is coming a sec¬ 
ond time, personally and victoriously. There is no 
uncertainty about His coming again, except in the 
time. The effort to fix the date has caused mortal 
mistakes and mischief. As the first coming was a 
personal visible appearance, in like manner as He 
went up into heaven, He will return to reign. John 
said that every eye shall see Him, and Jesus, before 
the high priest, exclaimed, “Ye shall see the Son of 
man coming in power and great glory.” How can 
any one so interpret these plain words of the Saviour 
as to make them mean the coming of the Holy Spirit 
into the hearts of believers? The Comforter has a 
special mission to convict, convert, sanctify and ap¬ 
ply divine power to the saving and cleansing of the 
human heart. Christ’s second coming is to inaugu¬ 
rate His kingdom in this world, to create a new 
heaven and a new earth. 

The Holy Spirit dwelt in the hearts of the prophets 
and the people in Old Testament times. Perhaps 
some said in those days, “Where is the promise of 
His coming? He is with us now in spiritual pres¬ 
ence; why look for a literal, personal appearing?” 
Following such advice the Church would have died 
and prophecy perished. Is it not equally fallacious 
to consider the second coming as a spiritual mani¬ 
festation which has always been in the hearts of 
Christ’s followers? Why did our Lord say, “Watch 
and be ready,” if there was no other coming except 
His spiritual presence, which was in their hearts at 
that very moment? Why did He mention some signs 






44 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


as evidence that His second coming was near if there 
was to be no visible appearance, nothing but what 
the Comforter bestowed at Pentecost? 


SPIRITUAL SATISFACTION 

Ps. 17 : 15. *1 shall be satisfied when I awake with 
Thy likeness.” Created in the divine image, it will 
be fully restored when we see Him as He is and are 
glorified together. The joy of Jesus is a satisfy¬ 
ing portion the moment we believe in Him, but, in 
the wider realm and larger capacities of the future, 
we shall become more gloriously satisfied with the 
brimming cup of delight in His presence. In this 
life we know not what we shall be sufficiently to de¬ 
scribe heavenly happiness. A little girl trying to 
draw a picture of a brilliant sunset exclaimed to her 
teacher, “I can’t draw glory.” It is the province of 
the Infinite Artist to create glory but not to reveal 
its full splendor to His children on earth. When we 
see and know, we shall be fully satisfied. 

How many seek soul satisfaction in material 
things, vanishing delights, forgetting to quaff the 
spiritual elixir flowing from the heart of Christ! We 
search for the philosopher’s stone that will turn 
everything into gold, finding only yellow dust at last. 

Christianity is the opposite principle and seeks to 
turn gold into everything beautiful, useful, and need¬ 
ful. How more and more satisfied one becomes who 
lives the sacrificial life of love, kindness, and benevo¬ 
lence for lost and suffering humanity! 


HUMILITY THE EYE-OPENER 

Phil. 2 : 3. “Let each esteem other better than 
themselves.” The egotistical mind doubts all but its 
own assumed superiority. ‘‘Is it true, John, that you 
think that you and your brother Sandy are the only 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


45 


real believers in all Scotland?” “Ay, an’ I begin to 
hae my doots about Sandy.” How narrow and self- 
confident some people are ! Would that their eyes 
could be opened to behold the wider horizon of God’s 
love and mercy that endureth forever and is like the 
wideness of the sea! Humility of soul clears the at¬ 
mosphere that we may see good in others instead 
of thinking we only are left of the Father’s faithful 
followers. 

The spirit of honoring one another often enter¬ 
tains angels unawares, and at least gives happiness 
to those in whom we repose such implicit confi¬ 
dence. Esteeming others better than yourself puts 
the heart in an attitude of worship and praise to the 
heavenly Father. Continuous criticism prevents 
thanksgiving to God and is liable to unite such per¬ 
sons into a kind of mutual admiration society for 
themselves alone. 

Thomas a Kempis says, “Whoso knoweth himself 
well groweth more mean in his own conceit and de- 
lighteth not in the praise of men. Vanity, the oppo¬ 
site of humility, goes strutting through the world 
seeking honor from men and forgetting God. What 
a contrast the humble Christian presents, hidden 
away in the secret presence of the Almighty! 

Ruth, esteeming Naomi better than herself, refused 
to part from her, saying, “Thy God shall be my God.” 
Seeing good in others and following them as they 
follow Christ, we become like Him under whose 
shadow we abide. Humanity desires ever to behold 
love incarnated in human action, walking Bibles, 
who are sent through the world after Christ’s ascen¬ 
sion into heaven. They are miniature redeemers, 
representatives and faithful ambassadors, seeking to 
reconcile lost men to God. 

ENTIRE CONSECRATION 

I John 2 : 17. “He that doeth the will of God 
abldeth forever.” This text is inscribed upon the 





46 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


tombstone of D. L. Moody. It was the motto of the 
great evangelist’s life. When Mr. Moody visited 
England, he heard a preacher say, “The world has 
yet to see what God will do with and through and 
by the man who is wholly surrendered to Him.” Mr. 
Moody exclaimed, “I will try to be that man!” He 
faithfully kept that resolution, walking in the steps 
of his Master, obeying His will, and becoming the 
mightiest Gospel minister of his times. The endue- 
ment of the power of the Holy Spirit made him a 
spiritual giant, attracting multitudes into the king¬ 
dom of Christ. He preached everywhere about being 
born of the Spirit and then filled with the Spirit. 
With him, entire consecration prepared the way for 
the entire fulness of the Spirit’s presence. “Emptied 
that He might fill me.” Other great evangelists have 
followed in his foosteps: Meyer, Murray, Chapman, 
Torrey, and Billy Sunday. 

The Christian world should remember how Christ 
loved the church and gave himself for it, that He 
might sanctify and cleanse it and present it to the 
Father a glorious Church, without spot or wrinkle, 
before the presence of His glory, with exceeding joy. 
The only method by which such a victory may be ob¬ 
tained is for each individual member to receive the 
fulness of the Spirit’s power and become a miniature 
Christ in the world. When this glorious consumma¬ 
tion is realized the song universal will be sung, 
“Unto Him be glory and majesty, dominion and 
power, now and ever more.” 


“IF I ONLY HAD!” 

Luke 19 : 42. “If thou hadst known.” A keeper at 
a drawbridge did not watch the semaphore. Failing 
to close the bridge, he allowed a trainload of pas¬ 
sengers to plunge to their death. Ever after he could 
be heard whispering to himself, “Oh, if I only had! 
If I only had!” He might have known if he had 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


47 


watched the signs. How many could escape the pits 
of peril if they would profit by the experience of 
others, but how natural to follow like dumb animals 
friendly associates whose steps take hold on death, 
whose failures and wrecks lie along the pathway of 
life! 

How soon the signs of warning will be hidden 
away forever! The present is the precious moment 
for action. Only those blinded by passion rush on 
regardless of danger. The drunken engineer will 
run his train past the signal, and, after the wreck, 
hide himself from the face of his fellow men, crying 
out, “If I only had not taken that last awful chance! 
But now it is forever too late!” God’s signals are 
plain; he who runs may read, but oh, how many 
rush by, taking time’s fast express to the abyss of 
ruin! They are willing to be guided by the false 
lights of brilliant skepticism, of fashionable sins, of 
attractive infidelity, and by the red lights of lust and 
pleasure. They dash themselves against the Rock of 
Ages rather than build upon the foundation which 
cannot be moved. To-day, if you will hear the Mas¬ 
ter’s voice, harden not your hearts by neglect. This 
is your day; you may never have another. Put not 
your head into the lap of Delilah, but upon the heart 
of your Redeemer. Let not your eternal requiem be, 
“Oh that I had known!” 


THE PENTECOSTAL GIFT 

Acts 1 ; 8. “Ye shall receive power.” Power to 
make the mountains of sin flow away into the sea of 
forgetfulness. Power to level the little hills of self 
till the soul is one beautiful plain of harmony and 
fruitfulness. Power to cut a channel for the river 
of life and peace, ever flowing through this garden 
of the Lord. Power to wash your spirit whiter than 
the snow, like the purity of Paradise, where birds 





48 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


sing, flowers grow, and hope eternal springs from 
the soil of the soul. 

The very atmosphere of this life-giving power is 
restful, luminous with the light of the sun of right¬ 
eousness. All the glory and joy of the first Eden 
is recreated where sin once abounded. “All power 
belongeth unto God.” “All power in heaven and in 
earth is given unto Me,” says Jesus, and the Holy 
Spirit on Pentecost transmitted this power of deity 
to the early church. Power to become like Christ, 
to witness for Him, live and die for Him, and reign 
eternally with Him. 

Many Scripture passages express characteristics of 
this power, such as “endued with power from on 
high,” “filled with all the fulness of God,” “create in 
me a clean heart, O God,” “sanctified holy and pre¬ 
served blameless unto the coming of the Lord Jesus 
Christ,” “have ye received the Holy Spirit since ye 
believed?” Are not many of our hymns prayers for 
this purity? 

God’s words thus lift up an ideal we all may reach, 
and our songs sing of an altitude we may obtain. The 
whole Christian world should pray that this baptism 
of fire may burn up all the dross of sin and make 
mankind fully ready for Christ’s second coming and 
for eternal residence with Him in glory. 


THE TRANSFIGURATION 

Mark 9 : 2. “And He was transfigured before 
them.” The transfiguration was preliminary to the 
crucifixion. After that wonderful night in the moun¬ 
tain, Christ’s face was ever set toward Jerusalem. 
The two heavenly visitors had talked with Him 
about Calvary and the resurrection. It seemed a 
cabinet meeting of the heavenly ministers with the 
great Ambassador. Moses and Elias stood for the 
law and the prophets of the past; Jesus for the end 
of the law, the fulfilment of prophecy of the future. 




Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


49 


What a sublime pinnacle in human history was this 
scene! Here the visitors beheld the glory they had 
longed for in life, and the three favored disciples had 
witnesses to the immortality of men and to the fact 
that we shall know each other there. All heard the 
voice of the Father, testifying to the deity of the 
Son—“This is My beloved Son; hear ye Him.” There 
is none other name but Jesus only. The disciples, 
after that heavenly vision, saw Christ in a light never 
before realized; they knew the splendor of divinity 
was veiled in His flesh. He was the Unchangeable 
One ever after. They were commanded to tell no 
man of this revelation until after the resurrection, 
perhaps because a vision is an individual affair, 
useful mainly to those who see it, not being under¬ 
stood or believed by others. 

When our Lord arose from the tomb, the trans¬ 
figuration became an added glory revealed to all 
Christ’s followers, but originally it was a vision 
given for a special purpose, like that which Isaiah, 
Paul, and John beheld that they might become 
greater workers in the mission of bringing the world 
to Christ. Ordinary experiences of Christian people 
must not be depreciated because of the fact that some 
have had remarkable visions. 


“ ABIDE ” 


John 15 : 5. “He that abideth in Me, and I in him, 
the same bringeth forth much fruit.” There can be 
no separate spiritual life apart from Christ, the Vine. 
In Christ we are accepted of the beloved Father and 
able to do all things. We are members of the body 
of Christ, of which He is the head. We eat of His 
flesh, drink of His blood, that we may be made par¬ 
takers of the divine nature. As it takes all the blood 
of the body to keep one finger alive, so it takes all 
the life of the vine to keep one twig in fruit-bearing 





50 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


condition. It takes all the blood of Jesus in vital 
union with the soul to keep the most humble be¬ 
liever a perfect fruit-bearer. 

“My life in thee, thy life in me, 

Makes fruitage forever mine.” 

How sacreligious it would be to say, “It is no more 
I that live, but the beloved apostle John who liveth 
in me.” But when our Lord says, “Abide in Me,” we 
do not wonder, for He is God over all and blessed 
forever more. He is our Preserver and Saviour, sup¬ 
plying all human needs for time and eternity. 

The word “abide” would not be written ten times 
in seven verses of this chapter if it were not the 
dearest, sweetest, sublimest expression of our most 
intimate oneness with the being of our Lord. It is 
also one of the richest words in hymnology. 

“When other helpers fail and comforts flee, 
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!” 


THE PHILOSOPHY OF PAIN 

II Cor. 4 : 17. “For our light affliction, which is for 
the moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding, 
eternal weight of glory.” It is known that the pearl 
is formed by a grain of sand getting entrance into 
the shell of the oyster, and thereby causing pain to 
its sensitive body. The oyster covers the strange 
body with a slimy secretion, rounding off all sharp 
angles, molding it into a polished pearl. What 
seemed a trial is converted into a jewel, radiating 
all the tints of light. Paul may have been thinking 
of his thorn in the flesh when he penned the text. 
He realized that a momentary trouble, quietly ac¬ 
cepted, becomes a gem for the crown of glory. 

So burdens of sand in a shell have produced pearls 
worth millions of wealth, adorning the crowns of 
emperors. Nature thus furnishes facts explaining 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


51 


the philosophy of pain. No chastisement at present 
appears joyous, but afterward it yieldeth the peace¬ 
able fruits of righteousness in the glory of character 
that will shine on as the stars forever and ever. 

The culture of suffering elevates the soul to the 
very heights of perfection, if it is a willing submis¬ 
sion, a thankful service. Every one has his cross or 
burden, secret or visible, that will blossom into 
beauty like Christ’s tree of the cross, if we can say, 
“Thy will be done.” If a broken oyster mends its 
shell with a pearl, we should not wonder that a 
broken heart may be mended with the blood of Cal¬ 
vary, the ruby of redemption. We know that rocks 
do not make soil till crumbled nor the flint fire till 
smitten; that the angel does not come from the 
marble till it is chiseled. 


BEGINNING BIGHT 

Matt. 6 : 33. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God.” 
A good beginning means a good ending, and a be¬ 
ginning should always consider the ending. Christ 
should be yours first, last, and all the while. All 
else of life is the scaffolding of character. Do not 
give God an inferior place in your life. Deathbed 
repentance is only trying to save the wreck on the 
rocks; it will not restore the lost opportunities of 
the voyage, the youth and manhood of the life. To¬ 
day the Saviour calls; hear Him now; those who 
seek Him early shall find Him. Human character is 
cumulative; begin early to grow in grace if you 
would reach toward the full stature of the Christ. 
Early days lost can never be recovered. Perform 
what you ought at the time you ought and avoid 
failure. 

The men who went to work in the Lord’s vine¬ 
yard at the eleventh hour accepted the first offer they 
had, like the thief on the cross. How unlike those 
who have rejected all pleadings throughout a long 





52 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


life! Remember God’s words, “Because I have called 
and ye have refused, when your fear cometh I will 
not answer.” 

Our Lord came to save the world at the right 
period of human history, in the fulness of time. 
Christ was promised at the beginning of creation; 
He has always been ready to receive prodigal souls, 
but how often we cry, “Go Thy way for this time; 
when I have a more convenient season, I will call 
for Thee.” He came that we might have life. How 
can it be that men will choose death instead of life? 


THE ETERNAL WORD 

John 1:1, 2. “In the beginning was the Word; 
the same was in the beginning with God.” Christ is 
called the unbeginning beginning and the unending 
end—the Alpha and the Omega, the all and in all. 
From creation He saw the end of time and the cy¬ 
cles of eternity. He endured the cross for the joy of 
His coming universal kingdom. He viewed from afar 
the coming magnificent tapestry, the production wo¬ 
ven by divine fingers, a perfect masterpiece of 
shadows and sunshine, of brilliant beauty upon a 
dark background of suffering. He saw this mosaic 
of human character adorning the galleries of 
eternity. 

Christ is called the Word. Words express thoughts, 
action, life. Our Lord is the express image of the 
Father’s thought in creation, nature, redemption and 
glorification. Words are close to mind and soul, 
inseparable from them; so Christ was with God, was 
God. We know His words better since He was made 
flesh. He thus translated divinity into humanity in a 
language all could understand. 

Jesus did not begin to live at Bethlehem, for on 
both sides of Christ stretches eternity. He is con¬ 
temporary with all history in this world and in all 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


53 


worlds. Take Jesus out of the Bible and it crumbles 
into dust. 

Behold Him; He breathes on men and they re¬ 
ceive the Divine Spirit. He touches eyes and ears 
and whole bodies into life from the dead. He draws 
all men toward His bleeding arms and on His bos¬ 
om the love and mercy of the All-Father is known 
and felt. Are you sheltered here under the shadow 
of the Almighty? Are you a friend of the Friend 
who sticketh closer than a brother, who, having 
loved you, will love you forever? 


THE LIGHT OF LOYE 

Rev. 21 : 6. “And He said unto me, It is done. I 
am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” 
God rested on the seventh day of creation. Not that 
he was weary, but as a lawyer rests his case after 
the argument is presented. God ceased at that time 
building worlds. On Calvary’s cross Jesus cried, “It 
is finished.” Here the redemption of a race was ac¬ 
complished. At the second coming of our Lord the 
records will be closed, destiny sealed, justice take 
the place of mercy, and earth’s millions will come to 
judgment. This is the divinely appointed end to¬ 
ward which the whole creation moves. 

In the beginning, God; in the ending, Christ. “Even 
so, come, Lord Jesus.” Earth’s incompleteness will 
reach perfection when we see Him as He is, face to 
face. The whole Christian world looketh for this 
hour, and the whole creation waiteth for this re¬ 
demption. 

When moral probation is thus completed, the tab¬ 
ernacle of God will be with men. The flood finished 
the career of men in Noah’s time. The world of 
mankind reveled in sinful pleasure till Noah entered 
the ark. Will it not be so when the last trumpet 
sounds? Many will awake from their dream of se¬ 
curity in everlasting shame and contempt. God’s 





54 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


government must be the same in all worlds. He is 
the unchangeable One. When His Son comes to 
reign, how small will appear the trivial things of this 
life, which have drawn us away from the true, the 
beautiful and the good! 


PREACHING CHRIST 

II Timothy 4 : 2. “Preach the word.” Preaching 
only opinions is feeding the people on husks, but 
proclaiming convictions of Gospel truth or real soul 
experiences is feeding the flock with the bread of 
life. Refined human theories, moral essays, mere 
speculations, seasoned with doubts, are not drawing 
cards to attract a congregation. In His immortal 
addresses, Jesus never indulged in opinions. He 
proclaimed facts, truths, verities, with absolute cer¬ 
tainty of their reliability. He left no uncertainty in 
the minds of His hearers. He said, “I am the Way, 
the Truth, and the Life. He that believeth on Me 
shall have everlasting life.” 

Positiveness is the power of all great preaching; 
guesses and possibilities are not pillows for the re¬ 
pose of the soul. The minister is God’s ambassador, 
not with plenipotentiary powers or discretionary li¬ 
cense, but with the unchangeable written words of 
the terms of peace between God and His wandering 
children. Therefore, he must be overwhelmingly 
certain that he knows the divine will and is pro¬ 
claiming it without fear or favor. 

Men who are dealing in immortal futures cannot 
afford to make a mistake; they must win or lose 
forever. No faithful messenger of God would put to 
the parched lips of dying men his own milk-and- 
water mixture of opinions, when the elixir of life 
from the cup of salvation is extended by the hand of 
the Great Physician. Preachers who do not know 
that Christ has saved them, commissioned them, and 
endued them with the Holy Spirit’s power should 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


55 


“tarry until”; they should wait for the promise of 
the Father and get the vision of the glory of God in 
the face of Christ. 

Those who preach their doubts about the virgin 
birth generally need the new birth; those who see 
only the human side of the Master need a look at the 
Godward side, that they may cry out, “My Lord and 
my God!” 

The soul cares little for theories; it calls ever for 
facts. We must know! We must feel! We must see 
Him who is invisible. The agnostic is the blind lead¬ 
ing the blind to the abyss. When the preacher has 
seen the face of God in Christ, his whole presence 
becomes electric with power; men are convinced 
when he is speaking the truth as it is in Jesus. 

It is said that Daniel Webster, while spending the 
summer in New Hampshire, attended service every 
Sabbath in the little country church. His niece asked 
him why he went there when he paid little attention 
to far abler sermons in Washington. He replied: “In 
Washington they preach to Daniel Webster the 
statesman; but this man has been telling Daniel 
Webster the sinner of Jesus of Nazareth, and has 
been helping him.” The minister who preaches 
Christ crucified on the cross of Calvary, dying for a 
lost world, is helping to draw all men unto him. 


THE FORTY HAYS’ TRIAL 

Mark 1 : 13. “And He was in the wilderness forty 
days, tempted of Satan.” At our Lord’s baptism, the 
Father testified, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in 
whom I am well pleased.” The devil, as in Eden, 
cast a cloud of doubt over the divine Father’s words, 
saying, “If thou be the Son of God,” as though there 
was uncertainty about the fact. Does not Satan say 
the same to us? “If you have been converted,” in¬ 
troducing a doubt that might lead to despair. Again 
he whispers to the believing soul, “If Jesus is the 





56 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


divine Saviour, examine with me his claims. I can 
show you that He is only one of the best of humans.” 
How subtle, how snake-like his insinuations! 

Satan appears as an angel of light to Jesus, saying, 
“Make these stones bread; you are hungry.” He 
asks him to do a right thing in a wrong way, to fol¬ 
low the tempter instead of the will of God. Every 
time Christ answered him with the words of Holy 
Scripture, ‘‘Man shall not live by bread alone but by 
every word of God.” In the next temptation the devil 
quotes the Bible, ‘‘He shall give his angels charge 
concerning thee.” But Jesus matched him with the 
words, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” At 
last Satan offered Him an easier way than Calvary 
to win the world to himself by worshipping the evil 
one, which would be following Satan’s example when 
he rebelled in heaven. Christ replied, “Thou shalt 
worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou 
serve.” Our Lord knew that Satan’s rule was tempo¬ 
rary, while He would reign King Eternal. 

Jesus went forth from the forty days’ trial, from 
the desert loneliness and the wild beasts of passion, 
victorious over all evil. He was conscious that 
legions of angels were waiting to comfort and defend 
Him. How beautiful to know that we may come 
forth from supreme trials more than conqueror, at¬ 
tended by a retinue of angels! 


SELF-SACRIFICE OF CHRIST 

John 18 : 8. “If, therefore, ye seek Me, let these 
go their way.” When the mob was seeking to ar¬ 
rest Jesus, turning to His alarmed disciples He said 
to His persecutors, “If you are seeking Jesus of 
Nazareth, I am He; let these go their way.” Christ, 
who is seeeking the salvation of mankind, in His 
own hour of greatest peril thinks first of the safety 
of His little group of followers, as though He says, 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


57 


“I am ready for you to arrest Me, but you must spare 
My disciples.” 

As soon as Jesus said, “I am He,” they went back¬ 
ward and fell to the ground. Thus our Lord gave 
His disciples time to escape while the mob was 
helpless on their backs. 

Calvary was only the climax of the self-sacrifice of 
Christ. His whole life manifested this spirit. He 
washed the feet of the disciples for an example of 
humility. He fed the multitude who followed Him 
only for the loaves and fishes. He worked miracles 
for people who had no other interest in Him than 
to receive benefits. His whole life was for the sake 
of the happiness of others. On Him was laid the 
iniquity of us all. 

Christ speaks to the eternal law of God, saying, 
“Strike Me, but let these go free. Bruise Me, but do 
not harm them. I am here to lay down My life for 
men, here to be scourged, wounded, and crucified. I 
can be satisfied only in the salvation of My lost 
children.” Only this spirit of loving kindness and 
forgiveness, as old as eternity, can carry us through 
eternity. 

Would you not delight in such sheltering care as 
'he Master gave to His disciples when He stood be¬ 
tween them and His enemies from the Sanhedrin, 
supported by Roman soldiers? Does He care for you 
with the power of divine protection? Is He with you 
always in the journey of life, leading you in the way 
that is everlasting? 


BEING IN CHRIST 

II Cor. 12 : 2. “I knew a man in Christ.” Do you 
know yourself to be in Christ? What a blessed union 
and fellowship is yours! Have you ever had a spe¬ 
cial visit with your Lord when His loving Spirit 
swept through your being with inexpressible de¬ 
light? Then you have had blessed assurance that 





58 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


“Jesus is mine”; perfect peace and heavenly com¬ 
munion. Like the great apostle, you could hardly 
tell whether you were in the body or out of the body, 
but you did know that you were dwelling in a para¬ 
dise richer than Eden. 

After such a consciousness, one is not troubled 
with doubts and fears about His divinity, ability or 
willingness to do all He has promised for His be¬ 
lieving children. All uncertainties, like fogs, are 
swept away by the brightness of His shining. One 
seems to dwell in an atmosphere of eternity. In 
Him we live and move and have our spiritual be¬ 
ing, with fresh views every evening and new every 
morning. To live is Christ, to die is gain. 

The brother of the sisters at Bethany was caught 
up for four days into Paradise, like Paul, but the 
word of Jesus called him back to the embrace of 
friends and loved ones. His mouth was sealed, like 
the apostle’s. He had heard words impossible to 
put into human speech. He knew the heavenly secret 
of life after death, of ineffable fellowships with 
Christ and the redeemed. We must be in the Spirit 
if, like John on Patmos, we are to enjoy such a 
vision of our Lord, and ever afterward walk as see¬ 
ing Him who is invisible while treading the soil of 
time. Would you like to have a look through one 
of the windows of eternity? You may have it by faith 
in Him. The eye of the soul is surer than physical 
sight; the certitude of seeing by faith is richer and 
sweeter and more abiding than any of the feelings of 
sense. It is living the forever life here; it is seeing 
beckoning hands and listening to calling voices; it 
is having your affections set on things above, where 
Christ is and the holy of the ages dwell. 

BELIEVING IN CHRIST 

John 3 : 15. “That whosoever believeth in Him 
should not perish, hut have eternal life.” When a 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


59 


person accepts Christ by faith, the Divine Spirit per¬ 
vades his heart. A new atmosphere envelops his 
soul. He may not be able to analyze the change, but 
he knows that the whole scenery of his life has been 
glorified and the furniture of his being renewed and 
his ambitions elevated. 

The crucial turning-point is to believe Christ’s per¬ 
son as a Saviour and Christ’s words of promise. We 
are not to be guided by present emotions or pulse 
consultation. We are to trust the Physician, without 
minding the explanation of the remedy or the diag¬ 
nosis of the disease. 

Those who are unable to argue, philosophize or 
reason, even the illiterate heathen, can believe, re¬ 
ceive and rejoice in Him. It is not necessary to pos¬ 
sess the power of introspection or spiritual analysis 
with which to examine inward experiences, but to 
trust wholly in Christ, who knows what is in man 
and will supply every need according to His riches. 
We calculate time by the sun and measure eternal 
years by faith in the Sun of righteousness. As the 
mind regulates the body so faith guides the soul; as 
loss of mind ruins the body, so loss of faith im¬ 
perils the manhood. The will, the emotions and the 
intellect become warlike without faith in the Prince 
of Peace. Faith is the dove of hope, bringing the 
olive leaf of peace to the troubled mind. Devoid of 
faith, imagination pictures a thousand ills that never 
come, while perfect trust, like a child, rests un¬ 
afraid, untroubled in the arms divine. Faith gazes 
lovingly into the unveiled face of Him who is build¬ 
ing mansions, and whispers, “Abba, Father, my 
Saviour! Mine forevermore!” Faith in nature’s 
laws, in earthly things, is but a lower type of faith 
in the living God, for this is faith that works by love 
and purifies the heart. 





60 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


“NONE GOOD BUT ONE” 

Matt. 19 : 17. “Why callest thou Me good? There 
is none good but One, that is, God.” Jesus never de¬ 
nied His deity when questioned or assailed, but, in 
order to elevate the mind of the rich young ruler 
from merely human goodness to that of the divine 
Father, He said, “There is none good in this highest 
sense but God,” knowing that He himself was God, 
as He often affirmed, when He said, “I and My 
Father are one”; “He that hath seen Me hath seen 
the Father”; “I that speak unto thee am He.” When 
the high priest at the trial of Christ said, “Tell us 
whether Thou be the Christ, the Son of God,” Jesus 
saith unto him, “Thou hast said; nevertheless, I say 
unto you, hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sit¬ 
ting on the right hand of power and coming in the 
clouds of heaven.” Was not Jesus crucified under 
the charge of blasphemy because He claimed to be 
the divine Son of the Father? 

It is said that our Lord contradicted himself when 
He said, “There is none good but God.” But He was 
simply directing the mind of the speaker away from 
himself, whom the young man considered only a good 
teacher, an ordinary human, up to the heavenly 
Father. Christ did not wish to be called good in the 
human sense, as unbelievers to-day compliment Him, 
as being among the best of humans, the climax of 
manhood, the finest and noblest example of holiness 
among men. Jesus never denied what John said of 
Him, “The Word was with God, and the Word was 
God, made flesh to be God with us.” The Father 
testified to the deity of Jesus when he said, “This is 
My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 

“Good Master” was the way the Jews had of ad¬ 
dressing religious teachers; our Lord refused to oc¬ 
cupy the position of a finite teacher. He must be 
recognized as the divine Saviour, the God over all 
and blessed forevermore. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


61 


DOUBT AND TRUST 

John 20:28. “My Lord and my God!” Unbelief is un¬ 
willingness to trust in God. Doubting is a cloud over 
the soul, longing to see the light. The two are as 
wide apart as the poles. Thomas was a doubter, 
thirsting for the truth about the resurrection of 
Jesus. Judas was an unbeliever who loved wealth 
and wordliness instead of Christ and holiness. The 
one hanged himself; the other cried out for joy, “My 
Lord and my God!” Has not every great believer 
been an honest doubter? Is it any more wrong to 
doubt when searching for the truth than to have 
temptations? Are not both elements of the fiery 
trials which tend toward the perfection of virtue, the 
glory of the crown of life and the final victory of 
the soul? 

Blessed are they who have had visions of the 
Christ, finally dispelling all doubts, and more blessed 
they who can believe without seeing the physical 
form. But our Lord is willing to give the troubled 
ones the evidence of His precious presence. We can 
remember the hour when we were risen with Christ 
and felt His individual personality by our side, 
walking with us all the way. 

When it is the vast question of Jesus and His res¬ 
urrection, one should not be blamed for wishing to be 
sure. When He becomes our light, the bats of doubt 
are banished by its effulgence. Thomas feared the 
resurrection of Jesus was too good to be true. When 
he beheld Him, he was ready to die for Him. 

It is said that Horace Bushnell, while in Yale Col¬ 
lege, stood in the way of many young men during a 
great revival of religion. He was a great doubter. 
At last he said, “I am sure it is better to be good than 
bad, virtuous than vicious. I will then be obedient 
to the light I have.” The more he came to know 
Christ, the more light he had, until Bushnell became 
the greatest minister in New England. 





62 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


WHAT JESUS BORE FOR OUR SAKES 

Luke 25 : 39. “Behold My hands and My feet, that 
it is I myself; handle Me, and see.” Pascal once 
said, “Jesus only let His wounds be touched after 
His resurrection.” The hope of humanity was in 
Christ’s scars more than in His life and teachings. 
His blood is our life; His wounds our plea. To the 
doubting world Jesus says to-day, “Reach hither thy 
hand and thrust it into My side; be not faithless, but 
believing.” Let us touch the print of the nails with 
the finger of faith and exclaim, “My Lord and my 
God!” Our hope is in His bleeding wounds. Noth¬ 
ing so beautiful as the scars of redemption. They 
will speak in never-ending eloquence through all 
eternity. Wounds are Christ’s credentials. Millions 
have been sheltered in His riven side. They have 
identified their Saviour by the print of the nails and 
the bleeding brow— 

O sacred Head, now wounded, 

With grief and scorn weighed down! 

O sacred Brow, surrounded 
With thorns, Thy only crown! 

A young lady seeking Christ was requested ’by 
Evangelist Morehouse to kneel and read the fifty- 
third chapter of Isaiah using the personal pronouns 
I, my and me. Soon she was sobbing bitterly, and as 
she read “He was wounded for my transgressions; 
the Lord hath lain on Him all my iniquities,” she 
exclaimed, “Oh, Mr. Morehouse, is this true?” “Does 
not God say it?” he replied. “Then,” she cried out, 
“I am saved; for all my iniquities have been laid 
on Him, and no stroke remains for me.” 


GOING ALL THE WAY WITH JESUS 

Matt. 26 ; 39. “And He went a little farther.” 
Jesus went farther than any other being for the 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


63 


salvation of men. He went all the way to Geth- 
semane, Calvary, the sepulcher and to glory. If He 
had not taken that last step, all His other steps 
would have been unavailing. 

Our Lord did not fail humanity in this crucial 
hour of human destiny. When the sins of the race 
pressed Him upon His knees, His shoulders bore our 
burdens, His blood paid our liabilities, purchased our 
pardon, cleansed our natures, that we might be pure 
to see the Father. 

No earthly friend could go so far as Jesus did. 
They have not the infinite strength, are liable to fall 
asleep in the supreme moment, or flee away in the 
hour of danger. When Jesus went a little farther, 
He was alone! Forsaken! An hour before He had 
tenderly said “Remember Me,” but now all had for¬ 
gotten Him. He must tread the winepress alone, 
drink the bitter cup to its dregs till, in His solitary 
anguish, with the Father’s face turned away, His 
precious blood, a crimson sweat, stood upon His brow 
before His side was pierced. 

Millions are glad Jesus went a little farther. There 
are other millions who should take that last step, out 
of self into Christ, and then into glory. In our Geth- 
semane we are not alone, for He said, “Lo, I am with 
you always.” “There am I in the midst.” With 
angels to comfort you and the mighty Victor over 
Hell, Death, and the Grave to guard, guide, and pro¬ 
tect you, you may be a victor like Him. Soon it will 
be said of you when life is ended “He went a little 
farther, into glory, where He awaits our coming.” 


LOOKING BACK FROM THE PLOW 

Luke 9 : 62. “No man, having put his hand to the 
plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of 
God.” Looking back generally means going back. 
The boy being led to jail for stealing oranges ex¬ 
claimed as an excuse, “O mother, I kept looking at 





64- 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


them!” Loitering about Sodom, or looking longingly, 
wishing you had never left the city of destruction, 
means that you will soon be rioting again with your 
old companions. The vacillating, hesitating spirit 
always fails to achieve. “Unstable as water, thou 
shalt not excel.” 

Star-gazers never plow a straight furrow. Better a 
plodder after the plow than an idler and gossiper in 
the market-place. Remember, you will become a 
millionaire reaper in the great harvest of souls gath¬ 
ered into Christ’s kingdom if you plow on through 
life. You will then hear the “Well done, good and 
faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” 

If Jesus had looked back while struggling up Cal¬ 
vary, the whole race would have been wrecked. He 
knew the Cross was the way to the redemption of 
the Father’s lost children. He gazed onward and 
upward till He could cry, “It is finished,” and then 
He ascended where we may keep looking unto Jesus 
in the struggle homeward. Suppose Paul had looked 
back and left the Gentile world in darkness. He had 
every human excuse for going back to his old life 
when he exclaimed “This one thing I do; I press on¬ 
ward for the prize of the high calling of God in 
Christ Jesus.” 

What if Luther had retreated before the empire, 
the papacy and the nobles of the realm? Behold Him, 
a single, solitary soul, standing in the presence of 
armies and powers of this world. Hear him cry out, 
“I cannot do otherwise; God help me!” And then 
he marched onward to victory. 

The King’s business requires haste, definiteness of 
purpose, will and energy. Such are the Die-no¬ 
mores of the soldiers of the Cross, who will not be 
ashamed to stand among the victors on the level 
plains of immortality. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


65 


THE HOLINESS OF LOYE 

John 15 : 12. ‘‘Love one another as I have loved 
yon.” Is not love the greatest impelling power in 
God’s worlds? We must love to live, in the highest 
sense. One desires to live to-morrow and all the to¬ 
morrows because of those he loves. If alone, he 
would pray to die. Therefore, love God, your neigh¬ 
bor, your friends, your family, your country, the 
church and the truth. The more love we give away 
the more we possess. “There is that scattereth and 
yet increaseth.” The reflex, ebbing tide is always 
flowing back into your bosom. The exercise of love 
is its strength. 

Love never flourishes in an atmosphere of envy, 
evil speaking, hatred, revenge, and jealousies. Such 
a spirit hardens the arteries of the soul, obstructing 
the flow from the heart of love. 

Our Lord has given the measure for love—“as I 
have loved you.” We know that His love never 
fails; His promises are sure; His presence per¬ 
petual, His pattern perfect. Having loved His own, 
He loved them unto the end. It is well to study the 
little kind deeds our Lord was ever doing, as well as 
His great, miraculous works. Think of His visiting 
the sick, feeding the hungry, comforting the troubled 
and fondling the children. Our love, to be like His, 
should manifest itself in a thousand little kindnesses 
that flow forth as spontaneous as breathing. Love 
deals in eternal things, like faith and hope, joy and 
peace. It is the spring whence all the waters of 
virtue flow. It is a forever faculty. Love marries 
the heart of man in everlasting union with Him who 
is called the God of love. Side by side we walk with 
Him and with his followers, helping to draw all men 
unto Him by the magnet of love. Love is the fulfilling 
of the law, the glory of the judgment throne, the light 
of life eternal. The holiness of love will be fol¬ 
lowed by the happiness of God’s infinite family 
throughout all the cycles of eternity. 





66 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


THE GLORIOUS COMPANIONSHIP 

John 21 : 7. “It is the Lord.” O morning of morn¬ 
ings, when the voyage of life is over and the golden 
shores appear at last! Did not Doubt often say, 
“There is no eternal morning; no landing-place, no 
haven of rest, nothing but the depths of the sea of 
oblivion. You have loved and lost.” But look! there 
is a dim Figure standing on the shore, as if waiting 
for you; with a cry of joy you exclaim, “It is the 
Lord! ” You remember that He said, “I will come 
for you, that where I am, there ye may be also.” 
Now you know that “He is faithful that promised.” 
All that He said about the mansions is true, for there 
they are in the bright celestial city before your gaze; 
there Jesus stands, waiting to welcome you, as He 
did the martyr Stephen. Around Him are angels 
chanting your home-coming. The hills of glory are 
thronged with happy spirits, waiting to receive you. 

As your bark grazes the golden sands, Christ takes 
your hand, saying, “Wherefore didst thou doubt? ” 
“If it were not so, I would have told you.” This is 
heaven, the home of the soul, and you are here. 
Once you saw through a glass darkly, looking 
through the Bible, nature, providence and experi¬ 
ences; but now, face to face, heart to heart, soul to 
soul. In that supreme moment, it seems almost too 
good to believe that eternity is yours, that it is Christ 
Himself by your side, and a wave of glorious satis¬ 
faction sweeps over your spirit when you realize 
that you are in His likeness, in His love, in the 
Father’s house and home, seated at His table, under 
the shadow of the eternal throne. 


THE WATER OF LIFE 

Rev. 22 : 1. “And He showed me a river of water 
of life, clear as crystal, proceeding ont of the throne 
of God and of the Lamb.” There was a river in the 




Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


67 


first Eden, but a grander one in the heavenly Para¬ 
dise, for its waters pour forth from the throne of 
God. It runs through the streets of the city and is 
bordered by trees of rich fruitage on either bank. 
There was but one tree of life in the first Eden, but 
an abundance here. There are trees of life on the 
earthly as well as on the heavenly side of this river. 
We eat of the same spiritual food and cleanse in the 
same fountain of waters as the saints in glory. The 
kingdom within and the kingdom coming are one 
kingdom of Christ. The one is invisible in the soul; 
the other, glorious in its power and splendor 
throughout the universe. The apostle John beheld 
the first glory of Jesus while He was in the flesh, 
and afterward has the visions of the second and final 
triumph of His kingship and kingdom. 

Our Lord is this River, flowing through heaven and 
earth, and any one who drinks of its waters need 
never thirst again. Peace is the language of the 
gentle river. It also signifies fulness, sufficiency, 
abundance. All the world may be filled with this 
healing stream, and the more thirst that is quenched, 
the more remains. 

“Thou, O Christ, art all I want; 

More than all I find in Thee.” 

Christ is the fountain, the river and the wide ocean 
of infinite love. He is the beginning and the ending. 
Everything liveth whither the river cometh; deserts 
blossom, valleys are filled with verdure, trees with 
beauty, whose leaves are for the healing of the 
nations. This river of crystal purity, flowing through 
the hearts, the homes and the nations of the earth, is 
making our world a garden of God, like the heavenly 
Eden. 





68 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


THE DOOR 

1 Thess. 4 : 14. “Them also which sleep in Jesus 
will God bring with Him.” What a beautiful way to 
refer to death! “He giveth His beloved sleep”— 
“and Stephen fell asleep.” Sleep is a period of rest 
from which one awakes refreshed. 

Asleep in Jesus! blessed sleep! 

From which none ever wakes to weep! 

We see our Pilot face to face when we awake in 
His likeness and we hear His call, “Come, ye blessed, 
to the rest of the people of God.” 

After the slumber, the golden door of infinite op¬ 
portunity opens to the soul. The door of death opens 
into the realm of life; it is entered walking through 
the dark valley and the shadows. The dark back¬ 
ground of death becomes luminous with glorious 
light. Dying clears the vision, opening up the vistas 
of heavenly habitations. Death is not extinction, but 
an exodus into a new world. It is a bend in the river 
of life, flowing on toward the ocean of love divine. 
It is being translated from the known to the un¬ 
known by Him whom we love and trust. We willingly 
burn all the bridges as we pass death’s valley, for 
we shall not return that way again. Death dies as 
you pass him by; there is no more death; the last 
enemy is destroyed. Therefore, death’s door at the 
end of life is a blessing; it is the only way out into 
the mountains of eternity. We should journey joy¬ 
ously, knowing that we shall pass through those 
gates of life, having a new birth of larger freedom 
and richer being. 

We knew nothing of this world when we entered 
life, but we do know something of the mansions and 
beauties of the eternal life before us, for the King 
has revealed little flashes of glory when the door was 
ajar, as Jesus passed into the heavens. He has also 
left us His wonderful Words of Life in the Holy 








Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


69 


Scriptures and sent the Comforter to reveal many- 
beautiful views of the glory land. Jesus himself will 
one day lift up the gates and open the everlasting 
doors into His Father’s eternal worlds. 

LIFE THROUGH HIS DEATH 

Rom. 5 : 8. “Christ died for us.” A great sinner 
was once saved by having this sentence flashed upon 
his soul: “He died my death for me that I might live 
His life for Him.” Jesus died that He might save 
us from the death that never dies and give the life 
that lives forever more. He paid all the debt you 
owe. His blood washes white as snow. 

Herodotus tells us that when Cyrus, on his way to 
India, captured Tigranes and his army, he compelled 
him to surrender all his kingdom for his life. Cyrus 
then asked Tigranes how he would redeem his father 
and mother. He immediately offered for them all 
his remaining treasure, and they were ordered to 
stand aside. Then came another awful question. 
“With what will you redeem your wife?” A look of 
horror flushed his noble face. At last, lifting his 
head, he exclaimed, “O Cyrus, I will redeem her; I 
will die for her if you will restore her liberty.” 
Cyrus, greatly moved by the heroic words, ordered 
the immediate release of both. In the evening Ti¬ 
granes said to his wife, “Were you not struck by the 
noble appearance of Cyrus?” “No,” she replied, “I 
was not looking at Cyrus.” “To whom were you look¬ 
ing?” She pressed her hands to her bosom, and with 
eyes streaming with tears replied, “I was looking 
at the man who offered to redeem me with his life!” 

One day we shall see the face of Him who not only 
offered, but did give His life for His Bride, the 
Church of the living God. No other attraction will 
be like Him who died for a race, that they might be 
able to exclaim, “I know that my Redeemer liveth; 
though once He was dead, yet now He is alive for¬ 
ever more!” 





70 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


KNOWN TO HEM 

Isa. 43 : 1. “I hare called thee by thy name.” Our 

Lord makes no mistakes when He sends His mes¬ 
sages to His children. He knows our name and dwell¬ 
ing place. From the Lamb’s Book of Life, from the 
palms of His hands and from His loving remem¬ 
brance. We here give two sample addresses which 
He sent to Ananias and Cornelius: 


Saul of Tarsus, 
Care of Judas, 

Straight Street, 
Damascus. 


Simon Peter, 

Care of Simon the Tanner, 
Sea Shore Cottage, 
Joppa. 


Thus we see that our Lord’s blessed words of par¬ 
don, peace, and loving kindness never get into wrong 
hands. He knows all about your circumstances. You 
may be surrounded by the slums of city life, in the 
awful hell of a mining camp, among the soldiers in 
the trenches or on the battlefield. God can’t lose you. 
His omniscience beholds you; His omnipresence is 
with you; His omnipotence grasps you and His love 
fills your heart. Wherever you are, you can be true 
to Him and in quick communication with heaven. 
Jonathan Edwards once said, “The grace of God can 
live where neither you nor I could,” and His grace is 
sufficient for thee. 

God sometimes gives a new name to those who are 
called to a special mission, as Abram was changed to 
Abraham, Jacob to Israel and Saul to Paul. He gives 
all a new name when we become His followers, a 
name which no man knoweth save he that receiveth 
it. This is a love name, known only between lovers, 
a secret name of sacred affection. How blessed to be 
thus known and associated with the name of Him 
that is above every name, w r ith the personality of the 
King of kings and Lord of lords. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


71 


RAPHAEL’S TRANSFIGURATION 

Mark 9:2. “And He was transfigured before them.” 
The Transfiguration was Raphael’s last and greatest 
work of art. There is a vast contrast between the 
upper portion of the picture, representing the glory 
of Christ and of the Apostles, and the lower portion, 
where an evil spirit is in possession of a child, whom 
the disciples had failed to cast out. Nine Apostles 
are on one side and the afflicted family on the other. 
Heaven and earth appear to have come together more 
completely than in any other scene in Christ’s life. 

The Transfiguration was evidently for the purpose 
of strengthening Christ for the decease which He 
was soon to accomplish on Calvary. Moses and Elias, 
representing the law and the prophets, were present 
to single out the Master as the Founder of a new 
dispensation. The scene was also no doubt for the 
purpose of impressing Peter, James and John with 
the majesty of Christ’s divinity. That wonderful 
hour never faded from their vision in all their 
future labors for the advancement of the Redeemer’s 
kingdom. 

The illumination of the glorious mount was not 
chiefly for the joy and delight of the earthly and 
heavenly company, but to give them strength for 
the victories which they were to win in the valley. 
They were not to sing and shout, “It is good to be 
here,” but to use the power bestowed, like that of the 
Pentecost, for the uplifting of the fallen and the 
comfort of the troubled. Christ is the central Per¬ 
sonage of both scenes. He is the fulfilment of the law 
and the prophets, the one who can cast out evil 
spirits and rescue a race from sin and death. 

Is not one meaning of this event that all believers 
may become like Christ in transfiguration beauty, 
when we reign with Him in His glory? 




72 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


WAITING FOR THE LORD 

Luke 12 : 36. “And be ye yourselves like unto 
men that wait for their Lord.” We are to wait with 
our loins girded, with our lamps trimmed and burn¬ 
ing, going into all the world, preaching Christ’s Gos¬ 
pel, that we may win mankind to Him. For nine¬ 
teen hundred years the Christian world has been 
waiting for Christ’s return, as John the Baptist 
waited for His first advent, by preaching and pre¬ 
paring the way for the Messiah. Waiting as all the 
prophets waited, who toiled and prophesied, preached 
and warned, to get mankind ready for the fulness of 
time when God should send forth His Son. 

The thought that Jesus is coming to reign in this 
world over all nationalities in His one kingdom of 
righteousness and peace, is the loftiest, most in¬ 
spiring idea that can possess the soul. If this colos¬ 
sal fact should take possession of the minds of men, 
it would transform our world and help usher in the 
millennial glory. His coming will not be a humilia¬ 
tion, a crucifixion or a catastrophe, but a coming in 
triumph, as the Creator of worlds, as the Redeemer of 
men, as the King eternal over the universe of God. 
He will reign on thrones as well as in hearts, victor 
over death, hell and the grave, ruler over all crea¬ 
tures, all forces, all creations. 

Queen Victoria once said to a friend, “There is 
nothing I should love more than to lay my crown at 
His feet when He comee.” Should not that be the 
attitude of every living being—longing, loving, wait¬ 
ing, and, if dying before the glorious celebration, 
waiting in glory, to be among the escorting hosts 
who will come with Him on His last visit to our 
fallen planet? 




Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


73 


HUMILITY AND GREATNESS 

John 13 : 7. “What I do thou knowest not now; 
but thou shalt know hereafter.” The disciples had 
been filled with wonder about who should be great 
in Christ’s kingdom. Jesus answered the query by 
an act of kindly drudgery. It was no doubt difficult 
to see the Master’s simple lesson in that sacred 
hour between the Holy Communion of the Last Sup¬ 
per and the going out to Gethsemane and Calvary. 
Washing the disciples’ feet appeared a menial obtru¬ 
sion, as well as an unfit act for a King to thus serve 
His subjects. No wonder Peter resented the request 
when he believed His Lord to be the Christ of God. 
He only yielded when promised that some time he 
would understand. 

It is well to realize that we are only a thread in 
the loom of divine weaving. When the completed, per¬ 
fect pattern is seen, the beautiful flower of soul serv¬ 
ice for others will be the loveliest figure in all the 
immortal tapestry. The world of Christianity is only 
just coming to understand the rich meaning of min¬ 
istering to the vast needs of humanity that appeal to 
us in war, in ignorance, in sin and suffering. Let us 
remember that the hand that held the towel shaped 
the planets, studded the heavens with stars, and, 
stretched upon the Cross, redeemed a dying race. 

Jesus, knowing that He came from God and was 
going to God, assumed the position of a slave, to 
teach men how to live for each other. He who is 
our resurrection and life will gladly do the least 
little thing for our comfort, for there is no great or 
small in the Bosom throbbing with love for His 
children. 


WITNESSING FOR THE MASTER 

Matt. 28:19. “Go ye therefore and teach all na¬ 
tions.” The word “therefore” explains why Jesus 
sent the disciples forth. It was because all power 


9 






74 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


was given unto Him in heaven and in earth. He had 
all authority to send them and all power to give 
them, and His own mighty personality to attend 
them. Therefore Jesus commissioned His apostles 
and every other follower to “go’' and tell the story 
of salvation. It is a “Go” Gospel, a Christ Gospel, a 
glorious Gospel of the truth as it is in Jesus. Christ 
stood for the Holy Trinity when He died for lost 
men and when He sent men on a world-wide mission. 
He is a mighty Saviour because He has all love to 
die, all power to endure, all authority to command, 
and the all-cleansing blood to wash sins away. Christ 
is the center and circumference of the Gospel. He 
is the Christ crucified, raised, glorified, coming again 
to gather the results of His mighty mission. 

Have you obeyed the command of the Captain? 
Are you going every day, everywhere, witnessing for 
the Master? Are you ministering with your pen, 
your tongue, your example, your gifts? Are you 
using your endowment of divine power to bring back 
a lost world into his kingdom? It may be you are a 
deserter, a traitor, worthy of being court-martialed 
for disobedience to divine orders. Let us ever here¬ 
after be true, obeying the Lord’s call to go; keep 
sacred his commandments, that we may love His 
appearing and be caught up with Him when He 
comes. 

THE REVEALING POWER OF THE SPIRIT 

John 1 : 39. “Come and see.” A missionary once 
said to a German Jew in Bulgaria, “I want you to 
consent to be a Christian for twenty-four hours; then 
you may see how it seems and how you like it. Will 
you do so?” “Oh, yes; I will for twenty-four hours.” 
“Well, then, first, I want you to believe that Jesus 
was born of the Virgin Mary.” The Jew threw up 
both hands and exclaimed, “Oh, no, I could not do 
that.” “But it’s only for twenty-four hours.” “Very 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


75 


well, then, I will.’ “Second, I want you to believe 
that Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the 
world.” “Impossible, impossible! I could not believe 
that.” “But it’s only for twenty-four hours.” “Well, 
well, all right; I will till tomorrow.” “Third, I want 
you to believe that Jesus arose from the dead.” “Oh, 
oh, that I could not do.” “But just for the time 
being?” So he consented. “Fourth, I want you to 
believe that Jesus ascended into the heavens.” “Oh, 
impossible! No man could do that.” “But just be¬ 
lieve it till tomorrow. Fifth, I want you to kneel 
down with me and pray to Christ the Saviour.” The 
old Jew prayed, “O God, Jehovah! If Christ be the 
true Son of God, let him save me!” When they arose 
the Jew, putting his hand upon his heart, said to 
the pastor, “I feel so strange right here.” He had 
received a touch of the divine spirit in his soul. The 
next day he came to the minister and said, with a 
smile upon his face and peace in his heart, “I will 
take Him for another twenty-four hours.” 

The Christianity of Christ is a glorious heart ex¬ 
perience. The half was never told except by the 
revealing power of the Holy Spirit of God. 


THE ASSURANCE OF FAITH 

John 11 : 41. “Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast 
heard me.” Before the raising of Lazarus, Jesus 
expresses His thanks to the Father, knowing that 
the victory is already secured. Faith always sees 
the triumph from afar, just as our Lord saw victory 
from Calvary’s cross; just as the prophets perceived 
that the Messiah was coming. May not every disciple 
know by the sweet asurance of faith that God has 
heard his prayer and that what we have asked is 
according to the Divine will? The blessed conscious¬ 
ness is the Divine language to the soul. It is the 
“yes” of the Holy Spirit before the visible gift is 





76 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


imparted. It is the heaven in the human heart to go 
to heaven in. Are not many who are advanced in life 
enjoying a full assurance that they will one day in¬ 
habit the celestial city? Have they not reached a 
height where spiritual gravitation goes the other 
way, and where they have reached a momentum so 
strong as to have no fear of ever turning back? 

How beautiful it is to have such perfect confidence 
in our heavenly Father that we praise Him for what 
He has promised but we have not yet received; that 
we can sing the song of triumph before the victory 
is known to others! 

Thankfulness glorifies God and beautifies man, 
uniting both in holy communion. When Jesus broke 
bread at Emmaus and gave thanks they saw the 
luster of His divine presence shining about them. 
The giving of thanks makes the soul bright with 
heavenly radiance. When we break bread, should we 
not always render thanksgiving to God? He, the 
great Giver, is worthy of all honor, praise and bless¬ 
ing, and our gratitude gives delight to all who are 
gathered around the household table. We thank Him 
for what He has been, is, and everlastingly will be. 


THE OPEN DOOR 

Rev. 3 : 8. ‘‘Behold, I have set before thee an open 
door.” Endless ideals are open to every man, calling 
for his consecration and endeavor. No enemy can 
shut the doors of opportunity our Father has built 
into His household of worlds. Every door seems 
larger than the last, opening into vistas vaster and 
richer. Nothing is impossible or impassable with one 
who is girded by divine strength. 

In nature, the scientist is entering open doors of 
wondrous vision. How much more the Christian sees 
in the realm of the supernatural! Today, woman¬ 
hood is passing over the threshold of greater useful- 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


77 


ness and activity in larger life. Reformers are also 
realizing ideals that once were in the dim distance. 
Governments are anticipating grander achievements 
than ever before accomplished. Out of the lion- 
eater of war is coming forth sweetness and light. No 
human can shut God’s open doors. In heathendom, 
not doors hut walls, whole sides, are falling down, 
inviting missionary effort, educational privileges in 
the whole Christian civilization. 

God reveals to the human mind the secret of the 
telegraph, the telephone and the wireless, that we 
may speak to each other as we whisper to Him. 
What a wonderful privilege to enter this gallery of 
communication and fellowship with the world of 
mankind! Man is God’s pioneer, educated and en¬ 
dowed so he can discover His Maker and the mighty 
forces of His creation. Let us look for the far 
spiritual horizon, the possible attainments of man in 
morals, devotion and heroism, more magical and 
marvelous than the human mind can picture. Infinite 
possibilities are waiting our coming, glad to be 
entered upon, discovered and enjoyed. 


HOW WE MAT LOSE THE “I” IN THE “THOU” 

Luke 9 : 23. “If any man will come after me, let 
him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and 
follow me*” A bishop once said in a sermon to 
workingmen, “My figure denotes the capital ‘I.’ It is 
only as I stretch wide my arms that the capital T 
becomes a ‘T,’ standing for ‘Thee, my Lord, and 
for Those who Thou hast given me,’ that I may 
minister unto them.” 

Christ thus stretched out His everlasting arms of 
love for all humanity; his personal “I” making the 
“T” of Calvary’s cross, meaning to all men, “Thou 
are mine; only let me be thine.” 




78 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


“I gave My life for thee; 

What hast thou given for Me?” 

The surrender of self to be crucified with Christ is 
the only way to true possession of self. Then, “none 
of us liveth unto himself,” but all for others. We 
lose the “I” in the “Thou.” Deny self, die to self, live 
to Christ and humanity, and you have your own true 
self—self-respect, self-reliance, self-defense, self- 
sacrifice—a purified and ennobled self, like Him who 
gave Himself for men. 

Then take up your cross, spread out your hands, 
count all as loss for Him who gave Himself for you. 
Count all as friends who are in the family of God, and 
all will be yours, and you will be Christ’s, as Christ 
is God’s. 


JESUS ALONE SATISFIES THE SOUL’S DESIRE 

Mark 9 : 8. “Jesus only.* When dying, Professor 
Christlieb said, “I see no man save Jesus only.” 
Happy the preacher who can make his audience see 
Jesus supremely, while all other fades away in His 
transfiguring light. When we unveil Christ men are 
enamored of His loveliness, lost in His beauty. In 
many portions of our earth men see only Buddha, 
Brahma, Confucius or Mahomet. Others see idols or 
images, but Jesus only is the One who can satisfy 
the soul thirst after God. We see Him dimly in his¬ 
tory, poetry, art, music and learning, but the Bible 
portrait is the best, and while you look, you are 
changed from glory to glory into His image. Bliss 
is pouring into your being as grace drops from 
His lips. 

Bernard of Clairvaux said, “Jesus is honey in the 
mouth, melody in the ear, a song of jubilee in the 
heart, which leaps to the lips.” “At the illumination 
of His name, every cloud flies away, serenity re- 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


79 


turns.” Thomas a Kempis said, “0 Jesus, brightness 
of the eternal glory, comfort of the pilgrim soul, 
with Thee are my lips without a voice, and my very 
silence speaks to Thee. Thou my God, my hope and 
my eternal salvation.” 

Though we are unable to give such beautiful ex¬ 
pression to our consciousness of the Christ, we can 
let Him fill our vision and thrill our hearts as we 
gaze with love upon “Jesus only!” 


THE TILE MAY BE PURE 

Ps. 68 : 13. “Though ye have lain among the pots, 
ye shall he as the wings of a dove covered with sil¬ 
ver, and her feathers with yellow gold.” Nature il¬ 
lustrates the wonderful transformations of grace. 
The filthy snow trampled under foot becomes dis¬ 
tilled into the whiteness of the fleecy cloud. Luther 
Burbank, studying the marvelous laws of nature, is 
able to change the habits of plant life which have 
been retrograding. It is the death of the old thorny 
cactus and the new birth of the thornless. If na¬ 
ture’s laws are built to produce such striking devel¬ 
opments, shall we limit the God of nature, who gives 
a new birth to fallen manhood, if needed? 

The Divine Husbandman transplants His redeemed 
ones into the gardens of the Lord. Think of the 
grand ideals toward which we may grow under His 
care and cultivation—the fulness of the stature of 
the perfect man in Christ Jesus. Bad habits are 
changed for good; the poisonous plant transformed 
into a tree of life, a palm of Paradise. The changes 
occurring every day in nature are only symbols of 
the higher development of the planting of the Lord. 
Out of the slums may grow a character whiter than 
the lily, adorned with the graces of angels, orna¬ 
mented with the pearls of purity, the gems of virtue. 
The chief of sinners may become clothed with all 




80 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


the elegance of the saints in light, made mete for 
immortality. No artist can paint the glory of such 
Christian attainment; no mind conceive of the beau¬ 
tiful things God has prepared for those who love Him. 
We know not what we shall be, but we know we 
shall be like Him. We see through a glass darkly, 
but we do see. Enough is revealed by His Spirit to 
fill the heart with joy here and glorious hope for the 
hereafter. 


BELIEVING IN CHRIST 

John 3 : 15. “That whosoever believeth in Him 
should not perish, but have eternal life.” When a 
person accepts Christ by faith, the Divine Spirit per¬ 
vades his heart. A new atmosphere envelops his 
soul. He may not be able to analyze the change, but 
he knows that the whole scenery of his life has been 
glorified and the furniture of his being removed and 
his ambitions elevated. 

The crucial turning-point is to believe Christ’s 
person as a Saviour and Christ’s words of promise. 
We are not to be guided by present emotions or 
pulse consultation. We are to trust the Physician, 
without minding the explanation of the remedy or 
the diagnosis of the disease. 

Those who are unable to argue, philosophize or 
reason, even the illiterate heathen, can believe, re¬ 
ceive and rejoice in Him. It is not necessary to pos¬ 
sess the power of introspection or spiritual analysis 
with which to examine inward experiences, but to 
trust wholly in Christ, who knows what is in man 
and will supply every need according to His riches. 
We calculate time by the sun and measure eternal 
years by faith in the Sun of righteousness. As the 
mind regulates the body, so faith guides the soul; 
as loss of mind ruins the body, so loss of faith im¬ 
perils the manhood. The will, the emotions and the 
intellect become warlike without faith in the Prince 
of Peace. Faith is the dove of hope, bringing the 







Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


81 


olive leaf of peace to the troubled mind. Devoid of 
faith, imagination pictures a thousand ills that never 
come, while perfect trust, like a child, rests un¬ 
afraid, untroubled in the arms divine. Faith gazes 
lovingly into the unveiled face of Him who is build¬ 
ing mansions, and whispers, “Abba, Father, my 
Saviour! Mine forevermore!” Faith in nature’s 
laws, in earthly things, is but a lower type of faith 
in the living God, for this is faith that works by love 
and purifies the heart. 


HIS POWER TO SAVE 

II Cor. 3 : 18. “We are changed into the same 
image by the Spirit of the Lord.” Jake Parsons, a 
worthless, drunken wretch, awoke from a night’s de¬ 
bauch a changed man. He says that on that night, 
“Jesus appeared to me in my sleep. His face seemed 
so pure, so lovely and so friendly to me that when I 
awoke I found I loved my Saviour. I could no longer 
displease Him. He did not speak to me, He only 
looked at me, but His look told me I could be for¬ 
given and purified. When I looked at Him, I was 
too happy to be afraid, and when I looked at myself, 
I was too afraid to be happy.” It is said that for 
thirty-five years Parsons led a blameless life till he 
fell asleep in Jesus. One such experience should be 
sufficient to assure doubting hearts that Christ is 
an almighty Saviour. 

If our God in nature can evolve the diamond out of 
black carbon, if He can create the rich ruby and 
opal out of sand and clay, if he can grow the whitest 
lily out of the blackest earth, why should we doubt 
His ability, by His own higher alchemy, to trans¬ 
form the darkest heart into the whitest purity? Nay, 
more, if man can produce beautiful paper from black 
rags or from the dark log of a tree, if he can make 
shining porcelain out of mud, valuable statuary out 
of worthless stone, ornamental and useful glass out 






82 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


of sand, if man can reproduce all the forms and 
figures of nature, the sunsets, the mountains, the 
forests and flowers, and by hitching God’s forces 
to his chariot can make them carry all his com¬ 
merce, turn all his wheels, if man can turn night 
into day, distance into nearness, copying the bird 
and the lightning in the flight of his thought and 
person, if he can perform miracles like these, shall 
we limit his Maker, who has endowed man with 
such mighty faculties, and who has created the forces 
which enable men to act with almost superhuman 
power? Who, then, will question the ability of the 
heavenly Father to bring purity out of sinfulness, 
strength out of weakness, heaven out of hell? 


CHRIST’S WITNESSES 

Acts 1 : 8. “Ye shall be My witnesses unto the ut¬ 
termost parts of the earth.” Paul said, “I know 
whom I have believed.” Faith so brings Christ into 
the heart that the soul knows His glorious presence 
as a fact of experience. No one can testify beyond 
His knowledge or experimental consciousness. 
“Have you received the Holy Ghost since ye be¬ 
lieved?” If not, you cannot speak of His fullness with 
power, for we cannot call Jesus Lord except by the 
Holy Spirit. He is the great Revealer. When we 
know Him and the power of His resurrection, we 
will be willing to die for Him, live for Him and wit¬ 
ness for him. The joy of the Lord disperses all the 
clouds of doubt. The peace of Christ, like a river, 
bears the soul upon its bosom toward the ocean of 
infinite love and rest. The divine Spirit makes Christ 
a power so real in the manhood that we long “to 
publish to the sons of men the signs infallible.” 

Paul was to witness to all men what he had seen 
and heard when he was arrested in his persecuting 
career and converted to Christ. This he did on every 
great occasion of his missionary life. His greatest 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


83 


sermons contained his experience when God the 
Father revealed His Son in his heart. The beloved 
John was instructed to write the wonderful revela¬ 
tions made to him on the lonely isle of Patmos. All 
the apostles were commanded to tell the story of 
their conversion and Pentecostal baptism. For wit¬ 
nesses are needed more than pleaders; telling what 
the Lord God has done for your soul is what the 
world is hungry to hear. David’s stories of his soul 
trials and victories, put in the form of sacred song, 
have filled the world with the melody of pardon and 
the music of salvation. 


THE FOUNTAIN OF GRACE 

Ps. 45 : 2. “Grace is poured into thy lips.” Jesus 
was full of grace and truth; His face was fairer than 
the children of men; His tongue like the pen of a 
ready writer. He spake as never man spake, with 
wonderful loveliness of expression, in picture para¬ 
bles and startling paradoxes. Hear him: If you 
would be great, be the servant of all; if you would 
be first, be last of all; if you would save your life, 
lose it; if you would be mightiest, be least of all. 

How almost childlike is the simplicity of His lan¬ 
guage: “Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.” 
How brief and pungent His sentences: “Him that 
cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out.” Some 
orators have such large words, such long, labored 
sentences, that, as one has said, “You could travel 
all day in these long paragraphs without changing 
cars.” 

Christ, the fountain of grace, poured out its spark¬ 
ling waters in pearls and diamonds of truth, whose 
luster fascinated His hearers and shines on un¬ 
dimmed forever. Preaching to-day should pattern 
more after the great Original. The heart that does 
not burn within itself cannot make other hearts burn. 
Bernard of Clairvaux was a marked example of a 




84 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


soul on fire with the spiritual force of love divine. 
His very face gleamed with celestial light. His pres¬ 
ence was like an atmosphere of purity; his words 
were like grace dropped from his lips. His audi¬ 
ences were entranced and exalted as though by the 
power of Christ Himself. The celebrated Abelard 
surrendered when Bernard began his great speech 
against his doctrines. Such is the power of an am¬ 
bassador in perfect communion with his Lord. He 
reveals the visions behind the veil. He lifts the cur¬ 
tain hiding the eternal so we can see spiritual things, 
though it be through a glass darkly. Faith, hope, and 
love are seen to be the real glory of the present and 
future life and the unsearchable riches of Christ be¬ 
come the only lasting reality. 


THE PRINT OF THE NAILS 

John 20 : 25. ‘The print of the nails.” 

“Hath He marks to lead me to Him, 

If He be my Guide? 

In His feet and hands are wound-prints, 

And His side.” 

Once Thomas a Kempis wrote, “When Thou, O my 
God, wouldst show Thy love for the world, Thou 
gavest it Thy Son. When Thou wouldst show Thy 
love for Thy Son, Thou gavest Him a cross.” We 
can only say, “Herein is love”—we have no other 
words to use—“herein is love and awful consolation 
and almighty healing and hope.” 

When we nail our pride, selfishness and lust to the 
cross, we have the marks of the nails like our Lord. 
We must bear our cross as He did if we would have 
the likeness of the crucified One in our characters. 
We should never be ashamed of the scars of self- 
denial and deprivation for His sake. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


85 


The grave-clothes hid away Jesus’ wounds only 
for a moment. When He arose, He showed them His 
hands and His feet. He gloried in these insignia of 
His suffering. Living Christians do not hide the print 
of the nails of their pain; only lifeless ones have 
covered away with a napkin and grave-clothes the 
beautiful evidences of their former loyalty to Christ. 

The world will not believe in our Christianity un¬ 
less it can see in us the print of the nails. This is 
the infallible proof that we belong to Him. The 
whole Christian church must become one great Geth- 
semane before the world is won for Jesus. 

“Behold, Christ’s feet are on before! 

And, other worlds of service to explore, 

He went unfaltering to His quest: 

And those pierced hands, last seen on Olivet, 
Dowered Him with passion for the people’s needs.” 


JOINT-HEIRS 

Rom. 8 : 17. “And if children, then heirs; heirs 
with God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” A dying 
judge said to his pastor, “If you and I were joint 
tenants on a farm, I could not say to you, ‘That is 
your hill of corn and this is mine,’ for we would 
have to share and share alike in everything on the 
place; and now, in this hour of my departure, I am 
thinking that Jesus Christ has nothing apart from 
me; everything He has is mine, and we shall share 
alike through all eternity.” 

Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, is heir to all 
the Father’s wealth, while we, his wayward children, 
adopted by the new birth into the family again, be¬ 
come heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus to all 
the inheritance reserved in heaven. It is impossible 
for us to invoice our riches in Him. We are heirs 
to the exceeding great and precious promises, heirs 
to the divine nature, to Christ’s righteousness, for 





86 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


we are made the righteousness of God in Him. We 
are heirs to mansions, thrones, principalities and 
powers, things present and things to come. 

In order to enter this royal line of sonship, what 
are we to do? Simply be willing to be born of the 
Spirit of God. “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is 
the Christ, is born of God.” Every one that loveth 
is born of God. Everyone that doeth righteousness 
is born of God. 

Have we arisen to this dignity of immortal son- 
ship? Are we one in nature, character and love with 
Christ? Then we are joint-heirs to all His un¬ 
searchable munificence. 


THREE PASSIONS 

Matt. 23 : 33. “How shall ye escape the damnation 
of hell?” It is said that Henry Ward Beecher once 
uttered this text in three distinct ways, to show how 
the same words can express different attitudes of the 
mind. His first rendering showed anger and hatred; 
his second, warning, and the third, melting tender¬ 
ness and sorrow. Does not our Lord manifest these 
different attitudes of mind in His presentation of 
truth? One day He stands weeping over the city of 
Jerusalem as He exclaims, “Oh that thou hadst 
known in this thy day the things that belong to thy 
peace!” On the next day, preaching His farewell 
sermon to those who had rejected Him, He cried out, 
“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees and hypo¬ 
crites! Ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pre¬ 
tense make long prayers; therefore ye shall receive 
the greater condemnation. Ye serpents! Ye genera¬ 
tion of vipers, how shall ye escape the damnation of 
hell!” “You make clean the outside of the platter, 
but within you are full of extortion and excess.” 

How Christ’s face must have shown with the 
terribleness of His denunciation! In the twenty- 
five verses of this awful arraignment, we have se- 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


87 


lected only a few of the sentences. He who was 
the Truth spoke the words without fear or favor, as 
He will when He sits upon His judgment throne. His 
intense warnings were with no uncertain sound. He 
did not seek to gild sin with the beauties of art, 
poetry, or rhetoric, but made it stand forth in its 
real ruin. The three years of His ministry had been 
full of gentleness, mercy, kindness and compassion; 
but now, just before He is to cry out on Calvary’s 
cross, “It is finished,” He rolls up the curtain of the 
future and shows His audience a miniature Judgment 
Day. 


HUMILITY 

Phil. 2: 7. “He made Himself of no reputation.” 
Jesus being in the form of God, made Himself in 
the likeness of men, assuming the form of a servant. 
He gave Himself away, died under shame and dis¬ 
grace of a condemned criminal, on a cruel cross. The 
way to become godlike is not by grasping but by 
giving, not by self-seeking, but by self-surrender, 
not by strife and vainglory but by lowliness of mind. 
The way to God is the humble, suffering, self-deny¬ 
ing way of the cross. 

Jesus was not man; He took on Him the form of 
man; “God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful 
flesh, but He was not sinful.” Behold God taking the 
fashion of man that He might sympathize with, suf¬ 
fer and die to redeem every man. He who humbleth 
himself shall be exalted, like the God-man who has 
a name above every name, a throne. above every 
throne, where every knee shall bow in confession 
that Christ is Lord of all. 

“Before honor goes humility.” Are we like-minded, 
willing to suffer the loss of our good name, be cast 
out as evil, of no reputation for Christ’s sake? Are 
we willing to suffer the loss of all things to win Him 
and win men to Him as He did to win the world? Was 
not Paul’s life a vivid illustration of this idea? He 




88 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


was in prison for Jesus’ sake when he wrote to the 
Philippians. His humiliation is now vindicated by 
the eternal weight of glory; having had no reputation 
among men, he stands loftiest among the mightiest 
in the heavenly places. 


BEARING THE CROSS 

Matt. 10 : 38. “He that taketh not his cross is not 
worthy of Me.” Our Lord was no doubt contemplat¬ 
ing Calvary when He said to His disciples, “Let him 
take up his cross and follow Me.” When Jesus be¬ 
came too weak to bear the heavy burden of the 
wooden cross, one Simon was found to bear it for 
Him. 

It is said that when Charles Simeon, a university 
professor, was in a great trouble he strolled forth one 
day reading his Greek Testament as he went and 
praying that some comforting passage might be given 
him. The first text that caught his eye was this: 
“They found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. 
Him they compelled to bear His cross.” Simon be¬ 
ing the same as Simeon, a great blessing came upon 
the professor, when he had the hint that he might 
bear the cross after Jesus. He truly felt it a great 
honor that he could participate in Christ’s sufferings. 
Should we not suffer willingly with Him that we may 
be glorified with Him forever, singing, 

Must Jesus bear the cross alone, 

And all the world go free? 

No, there’s a cross for every one, 

And there’s a cross for me. 

Should we not deny ourselves and take up our 
cross as willingly as Jesus bore the cross the Father 
gave Him for humanity, remembering that the dis¬ 
ciple is not above his Master? If the great aim of our 
life is to save it, we shall lose it, but losing it for the 
sake of Christ and the world, we shall find it for- 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


89 


ever. Let us remember Calvary that we may know 
what it means to follow Christ, going with Him all 
the way, through the garden, up the hill, down to the 
sepulchre, and with Him, ascend to glory. 


HOW JESUS SPEAKS 

John 7 : 46. “Never man spake like this man.” He 
who is the Truth, the Way, and the Life, tells of His 
own wonderful character when He speaks to men. 
His words are tested by the impartation of His own 
nature, the fruits of the tree of life. Faith looks unto 
Him and lives forever. The sinsick and wounded 
find Him a balm in Gilead, a Saviour of the lost. 
Where He is, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed 
and the bleeding side is beheld as proof of His 
resurrection. His ascension is evidence of the many- 
mansioned home. Pentecost is His spirit, speaking 
in power to the hearts of men. 

For nineteen hundred years, Jesus has spoken in 
the masterpieces of melody, of sculpture, painting, 
poetry, literature, and in the events of all history. 
His voice means peace and final triumph; His king¬ 
dom is now approaching noontide splendor. He 
speaks through millions of His followers who de¬ 
scribe the truth which has made them free, who 
practice His life of ministry, self-denial and benevo¬ 
lence, finding greatest joy in living and doing for 
fellow men. 

His word and example are that helpfulness is true 
greatness; brotherhood, real Christianity; sympathy 
and fellowship for men, holy religion. These quali¬ 
ties are like Him, who is love itself. 

Jesus speaks through reforms, pulpits and press; 
in the words of prohibition of drunkenness, slavery, 
lust and war. Our Lord’s words are not mere theo¬ 
ries or theologies, but real life, eternal life. 




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CHRIST'S GLORY THROUGH THE CENTURIES 

John 17 : 5. "And now, Father, glorify Thou Me 
with Thine own Self, with the glory which I had with 
Thee before the world was.” Jesus had been ma¬ 
ligned, ostracized and rejected by the men He came 
to save. He was hunted as an outcast, ridiculed as 
an impostor, tried as a blasphemer, crucified as a 
criminal. No wonder He cried, out of the depths 
of His bruised heart, “Glorify Thou Me! Let Me 
shine in My real, supreme, divine glory, that I may 
be vindicated before the universe from misrepre¬ 
sentation, that I may glorify Thee by being seen, be¬ 
lieved upon and known in My true nature, as the 
Creator, Redeemer, and Saviour of men.” 

For nearly twenty centuries Christ’s infinite glory 
has been unveiled to mankind. He is shining to-day 
in the undimmed splendor which He possessed when 
He said, “Let there be light!” The day is coming 
when His glory will fill the whole earth as the waters 
cover the sea. Let men be careful who seek to throw 
a shadow across the effulgence of His divine shining, 
for He is coming again in all the majesty of Deity. 
Every eye shall see Him, every knee shall bow, in¬ 
cluding those who have pierced Him with javelins of 
unbelief. Then all people will know that He is the 
God-man, illuminating the universe through trans¬ 
figured humanity and glorious divinity. 


THE LORD THE KEEPER 

Ps. 121 : 5. "The Lord is thy keeper." Would it 
not be blessed to have a rich, kind friend who prom¬ 
ises to care for all your needs in this life? There 
never would be a real want unsupplied, never a fear 
of future need, never a doubt regarding His guidance 
and protection. Let me tell you of such a Keeper 
who once said, “Let not your heart be troubled.” “I, 
the Lord am your Keeper.” But should we not con- 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


91 


slder mother and father the keepers of the children? 
Oh, yes, in all things except in Jesus’ coming into 
your heart. The parents must have His divine pres¬ 
ence or become unfit to care for the dear ones God 
has given them. The first duty of the parents is to 
lead the children unto Him who never slumbers nor 
sleeps in His holy watchfulness over His flock. The 
parent is not strong enough to keep you from all evil 
and to preserve your soul unto everlasting life, and 
then mother may be called away to the heavenly 
home, and father may become ill and helpless; then 
how much more you will need the divine Helper, to 
preserve thy going out and thy coming in forever 
more. He will not only keep you safely in this life, 
but house you in His heavenly home. 

Our Lord is the One to whom we may confide all 
the inmost secrets of our hearts. He understands us 
and loved us before we could love Him, and no one 
can harm us in His embrace. 

How many children are orphans, cared for by kind 
friends or by some benevolent institution! Jesus 
must be Mother and Father to them in their desola¬ 
tion. His everlasting arms and bosom of love is their 
only real resting-place and refuge. Let us then pray 
to Him as our Keeper, saying, “Lord, keep me from 
all evil; forgive my sins; guide my steps and bring 
me to Thy rest with Thee in the forever land.” 
Though we cannot see Him now, we know His 
dwelling-place is in our hearts, our blessed Eternal 
Friend. 


LOOKING UNTO HIM 

Isa. 45:22. “Look unto Me and be ye saved.” 
Bishop Fowler says that George Whitefield once tried 
to lead to Christ a poor Scottish peasant woman. 
She seemed unable to grasp the idea of faith. One 
day Whitefield heard a woman saying to her sick 
child, “Lippen to me, lippen to me,” and the little 




92 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


one nestled closer in her arms. The evangelist hur¬ 
ried away to the one who could not believe and ex¬ 
claimed to her, “Lippen to Jesus, lippen to Jesus.” 
She bowed her head with tears streaming down her 
cheeks as she cried, “Is that all, is that all?” The 
seeker had thus found the Saviour by looking unto 
Him in an attitude of faith. Looking is believing; 
it is next to loving. Looking was living to the dying 
Israelites as they gazed at the brazen serpent. So 
there is life for a look at the Crucified One. Every 
sinful, troubled soul should inquire, “Sirs, we would 
see Jesus,” and as you gaze, your next words will be, 
“Thou art near, O Lord; now mine eyes see Thee, the 
One altogether lovely.” Beholding Him, we become 
radiant and shine as lights to men. 

Dr. Trimble as a boy saw Adoniram Judson get off 
a train, and he said, “I never saw such light on a 
human face before.” He took knowledge that Judson 
had been with Jesus. That look upon the face of a 
holy man was never forgotten by the great Sunday 
school worker. 

One day a judge of the Supreme Court saw in a 
lawyer’s office Hoffman’s painting of the boy Jesus 
talking with the doctors in the temple. When his 
errand was finished, he turned to the picture again, 
gazing upon it with great interest. The next morning 
he came on purpose to take a look at that Boy. For 
an hour he studied the wonderful face. The day 
after, he took the picture into the private inner office, 
and when he came out the tears were streaming down 
his face as he said, “That Boy has conquered me”; 
and the judge went out to tell how a look at Christ 
had transformed his life. 


GOD’S LEGION OF HONOR 

Matt. 16 : 24. “If any man will come after Me, let 
him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


93 


Me.” The order of the Iron Cross grew out of the 
great need of Frederick William III of Prussia; he 
had used up all the nation’s wealth in war. The 
people accordingly brought all their jewelry of gold 
and silver to be melted into money for the govern¬ 
ment. For each ornament presented, they received 
another of iron or of bronze containing the inscrip¬ 
tion, “I gave gold for iron. 1813.” 

The Iron Cross of Germany, like the Victoria Cross 
of England and the Cross of the Legion of Honor in 
France, is generally bestowed in recognition of hero¬ 
ism in battle. Christianity’s cross is borne in self- 
denial for Jesus’ sake. When the two pieces of wood 
which go to make up a cross lie side by side, there is 
no cross; but when the shorter piece—the human 
will—is placed across the longer one—the divine 
will—then we have the cross. Oftentimes, when 
great afflictions fall upon the soul, God’s will seems 
unbearable; but if we bear our cross lovingly, it 
brings to us here blessed resignation, and yonder, an 
eternal weight of glory. 

In God’s Legion of Honor, for iron he gives gold; 
we bring to Him our little treasures and he trans¬ 
forms them into unsearchable riches. All are heroes 
in the army of the Lord. When our wills are per¬ 
fectly surrendered, then there is no cross, for we lie 
alongside Him in perfect peace, blessed rest and holy 
love. It is then we bring our gifts gladly, for the 
progress of His kingdom and the honor of His name. 


THE WAY, THE TBUTH AND THE LIFE 

John 14 :6. “I am the Way, the Truth and the 
Life.” If there are souls today like Thomas, doubt¬ 
ful about whither Jesus went and the way they are 
going, Christ’s reply ought to settle all such fears. 
“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” Jesus in¬ 
timated, “Though I shall be absent from you, I will 




94 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


be present in the Comforter. I will be the Way to 
the Father’s house. Therefore, follow Me, and you 
will never be troubled. I am the Way to God, for I 
am God. I am the Way home for I am the Home. 
You need not seek a terminus, but the eternal Way, 
for we are going on together forever. There can be 
no other way, for I am the Truth and the Life.” 

What Jesus said and did in three short years are 
not only truth and life, but He is all the unexpressed, 
infinite truth and righteousness. All wisdom and 
knowledge find their source in the fastnesses of His 
Godhead. He is the Doctrine and the Life, Author 
and Lover; His lips speak what His life lives; His 
miracles witness to the truth; His love imparts the 
truth; His death meets the law of truth and justice. 
He is full of grace and truth; dwelling in Him and 
He in us, we realize enough of the truth about the 
future life to satisfy the soul. Without Christ the 
curtain shuts down, the horizon is a little circle; 
with Him it is limitless, evermore glorious. What is 
your life? Happy are you if you can answer, “For 
me to live is Christ; to die is more of Him, to be 
going on with Him forever.” 


SHEEP AND SHEPHERD 

John 10 : 11. “I am the Good Shepherd.” The pic¬ 
ture of the lost sheep by the artist Alfred Soord is 
the most real, natural and thrilling of all the repre¬ 
sentations of the Good Shepherd in art. Some have 
portrayed the Shepherd in fine garments, with a 
pretty lamb in His bosom; but Soord has arrayed 
Him with a rough jacket, rawhide shoes and a big 
club, as he leans over the precipice to rescue the 
lost sheep. 

One day, when this painting was hanging in an 
office, tears were seen coming down the cheeks of a 
business man. When asked what the trouble was, 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


95 


he replied, “I have been looking at that painting, and 
thinking how truly it pictures me. I was just where 
that sheep is; I had lost my way; there was nothing 
below but the bottomless pit, and the eagles were 
coming down. It was then Christ found me and 
saved me.” 

How well the sinner is symbolized by the lost 
sheep! Almost any other animal can find its way 
home, even when we try our best to lose it; but a 
sheep never knows the direction to the fold. It 
seems perfectly helpless in its lostness. The true 
shepherd, hearing the cry of the wanderer, naturally 
leaves the ones that are safe and secure while he 
searches for the strayed one in the desert or moun¬ 
tain. So Jesus ever lays down His life for the sheep, 
and in His risen glory goes forth to bring the wan¬ 
derers home. 


SINFUL TO DOUBT CHRIST’S WILLINGNESS 

Mark 9 : 23. “If thou canst believe.” The “if” 
implies a doubt. We put the “if” on the Christ side. 
“If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.” Jesus 
puts it over on the human side. “If tliou canst be¬ 
lieve, all things are possible to him that believeth.” 
It is sinful to doubt Christ’s willingness or ability. 
Martha said, “Lord, if Thou hadst been here my 
brother had not died.” If she had only believed it, 
Jesus was there all the while. Christ putting the 
divine “yet” beside her “if” said, “Yet shall he live.” 

Oh, glorious Yet! Bridging the gulf between the 
mortal and the immortal. Job understood this 
thought when he cried, “If He slay me, yet will I 
trust in Him.” Habakkuk also wrote, “If the fig 
tree shall not blossom, yet will I rejoice in the 
Lord.” David thrilled the world when he wrote 
“If I walk through the valley and the shadow of 
death, yet I will fear no evil.” Paul echoed the 




96 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


same, “If outward man perish, yet the inward man 
is renewed.” The Syro-Phoenician woman, pushing 
aside all ifs, cried out in faith, “Yet the dogs eat the 
crumbs that fall from the Master’s table.” If you are 
the chief of sinners, yet the blood of Jesus Christ 
will cleanse you from all sin. We are not straitened 
in God by “ifs,” for all God’s attributes and goodness 
are on the right side of the “yet.” 


THOSE WHO MOCK AT THE GOSPEL MESSAGE 

Matt. 22 : 5. “But they made light of it.” Would a 
minister of the glorious Gospel make light of the 
atonement, of the blood of Christ, of His birth, death, 
and deity? Then we would expect that his people 
would lightly consider the authority of Jesus, of the 
Bible and of the invitation which the divine Son ex¬ 
tends to all people. “Like priest, like people!” Not 
to treat our Lord’s message seriously, to be indiffer¬ 
ent and neglectful, is as destructive to the soul as if 
we were one of His crucifiers. Christ offers a full, 
free, and eternal salvation—the most tremendous 
presentation heaven has ever made to earth! How 
terrible for humanity to make light of it! God so 
loved, but men so hated. They would not have His 
rule, His riches, His pardon and peace. God, who is 
everything, was not wanted by men, who are nothing. 

Sinful men are often so deceived as to be like an 
insane man who used to weave in his cell golden 
crowns out of straws. What better are we, who 
choose toys rather than treasures, sin than holiness, 
hell than heaven? Men do not make light of honor, 
wealth, pleasure, leisure or lust; they make light of 
him, who would save them from selling their souls 
for a bauble. If we ridicule and reject Him, with no 
more feeling than a clod of clay, He will be com¬ 
pelled to make light of us when we desire to taste of 
His supper. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


97 


LEAVING THE OLD HOME FOR THE NEW 

John 14 : 2. “I go to prepare a place for you.” 
Jesus here gives us a look into eternity through the 
gates ajar. A full vision would have made the dis¬ 
ciples unfit for this lowly life. They saw for a 
moment the heavenly hills on the sides of the moun¬ 
tains of immortality. How blessed to know that 
when the earthly house fails you have a building 
imperishable, designed and completed by the Archi¬ 
tect of the universe for His bride. No artist, giving 
beautiful reflections from nature, can thrill the soul 
like Him who paints heaven for His children. 

Time’s winged chariot is hurrying on. Life’s 
journey will soon be ended. The old home will be 
left behind. The old business life will be no more. 
Your employment will be in the presence of the 
King. Old opportunities will be past, but more 
golden ones are coming. Old friends are gone where 
you are going, waiting to greet you. The ascended 
Christ says, “I will receive you unto myself, that 
where I am, there ye may be also.” Do you believe 
Him, trust Him, love Him? Then His home will be 
yours; you will be joint heirs with Him to the inheri¬ 
tance of a universe of worlds, of His infinite spiritual 
blessings. You will have the right of way to his 
heart and being forever. 


THE DANGER OF LATE REPENTANCE 

Luke 23 : 43. “This day shalt tliou be with Me in 
Paradise.” The old divines used to say, “One was 
saved on the cross that none might despair, and only 
one, that none might presume.” That there is only 
one deathbed repentance recorded in the Bible is not 
much encouragement for procrastinators. Those 
who delay take the risk of dying by accident, of be¬ 
coming past feeling, of the Spirit’s ceasing to strive, 





98 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


and of inability to break with evil babits, which is 
just as foolhardy as for a man floating down Niagara 
in a skiff, who risks all upon one last jump by the 
precipice. 

Is it not dishonorable, as well as mocking God, 
for you to .say that you will make up with Him 
when you can sin no longer? True, God’s mercy is 
boundless; but man’s will power becomes enslaved, 
his feelings calloused, his conscience seared, his soul 
sacked by the devil. So there is nothing left but the 
smoke of the candle to throw into the face of the 
Almighty. The ruling passion becomes so strong 
in the hour of death that in earthquakes and ship¬ 
wrecks men have been known to break into liquor 
rooms so as to become drunk to unconsciousness 
before dying. As the tree falls, so shall it lie; the 
unjust shall be unjust still. 


THE WONDERFUL GIFT 

John 1 : 14. “The Word was made flesh.” God be¬ 
came man that man might become like God. God 
made man but a little lower than the angels; man 
made himself lower than the brutes. Jesus was 
born into manhood that man might be reborn into 
Godhood. Christ did not come to dwell a few years 
in humanity, but to unite the human with the divine 
in His own person forever. In Him we see what 
man may become. He is our Brother as well as 
Saviour; our Fellow, Friend, Comrade and Redeemer. 

Childhood delights to hover in thought over the 
manger cradle, remembering that the Babe of Beth¬ 
lehem was a child with them. Giving Christmas pres¬ 
ents commemorates Christ’s giving Himself as the 
unspeakable gift. The shepherds and wise men did 
not fully understand what the angels knew when 
they sang “Peace on earth and good will to men.’’ 
At first He was only a beautiful, wonderful child! 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


99 


They could not see that He was to become the King 
of all kingdoms, full of grace and truth; that He 
came to dwell in a babe of human mold, so that 
He might dwell forever in human hearts; that His 
little hands were to wipe away all tears and sway a 
scepter over all realms. 


DBA WING MEN TO CHRIST 

John 1 : 42. “And he brought him to Jesus.” When 
Andrew brought Simon Peter, his brother, to Christ 
he performed the noblest action of his life. He be¬ 
came the preacher by proxy at Pentecost. He lived 
in the wonderful career of the great apostle. He 
wrote and spoke through his brother. Should we not 
often say to our friends out of Christ, “Come and see 
Him. He has saved me; He will save you. We 
have found Him of whom Moses and the prophets 
wrote. Everlasting is His dwelling place, heaven 
His home and love for humanity His passion.” 

When Senator Dolliver’s father was visiting him in 
Washington city the aged man was introduced to 
the Italian ambassador. During the conversation 
Mr. Dolliver said to him, “How is your soul?” Then 
he quickly explained his question, saying, “Are you 
a Christian?” The ambassador replied, “I am a 
Roman Catholic.” Mr. Dolliver, soon after, at the 
age of ninety years, passed home to God. The am¬ 
bassador was the first person to bring a floral of¬ 
fering for the funeral. He asked to look upon the 
silent face of the deceased with the relatives, for 
he remarked, with tears in his eyes, “Mr. Dolliver 
was the only one who ever said to me, ‘How is your 
soul V ” What a good watchword that would be for 
Christian people everywhere. 





100 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


THE SOUL’S SEASON OF GREATEST 
OPPORTUNITY 

Luke 4 : 19. “To preach the acceptable year of the 
Lord.” What if the Jewish people had fully realized 
that the year of the Lord had come to them? That 
the long-promised and prophesied Messiah was with 
them, beginning His ministry? No doubt many more 
would have accepted Him. Jesus warned them when 
He said, “O that thou hadst known the things that 
belong to thy peace!” Such periods of visitation 
have come to many nations who have rejected the 
Christ and crumbled into the dust of centuries. 

The acceptable year comes to individuals in hours 
of bereavement, monetary losses and afflictive provi¬ 
dences. The Spirit strives, the Saviour knocks, the 
angels minister, but how many shut the heart’s door 
against Him who came to preach the glorious Gospel 
to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, to give deliv¬ 
erance to the captive, sight to the blind, and liberty 
to the bruised! It is never the year of our Lord to 
souls that reject Him. Every year in sin belongs to 
the enemy. 

The year of our Lord has many blessed memorial 
days, in which the church seeks to make Christ 
more real to men; but those who refuse to make it 
the acceptable year have no real angels’ anthem of 
peace and good will, no Christmas celebration, no 
Good Friday, no Easter Sunday, no Ascension Day, 
no Lord’s Supper, and no looking for His appearing 
at His second coming. 


GOD GIVES ASSURANCE THAT RIGHT MAKES 
MIGHT 

Luke 21 : 36. “Watch ye therefore, and pray al¬ 
ways.” Luther fought his mightiest battles in all- 
night prayers, as Jacob did at Jabbok. Luther knew 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


101 


his victory was won when the morning dawned. When 
Ethelred was about to give battle to the Britons, 
seeing a number of unarmed men, he asked what 
they were doing. He was told, “They are praying 
for the success of their countrymen.” “Then,” said 
he, “they have begun the fight against us. Attack 
them first.” Prayer moves the arm that moves all 
worlds, that mobilizes the innumerable hosts of 
heaven. He who forgets to reckon with God’s 
legions loses the conflict. The nation whose cause is 
just prays with the true spirit, and often is conscious 
of the coming triumph. God gives assurance that 
right makes might. He that lacketh wisdom or 
might, let him ask of the Lord and it will be given 
him. At other times we are to stand still and see 
the salvation of God. 

War is considered murder unless in self-defense. 
Those who are misinterpreting divine power find 
that the heavens are brass to prayer. “Thou shalt 
not kill” is a commandment never abrogated. Na¬ 
poleon, for self and national glory, turned all Eu¬ 
rope into a burying-ground. There were only the 
dead, the dying, and the mourning. We have been 
having a similar Golgotha. The devil, as an angel 
of light, is the inspiration of the present conflict. As 
Napoleon was banished, so may other monarchs fall, 
who seek to build their thrones on a pyramid of 
human skulls. 


FORGIVENESS 

Rom. 5 : 8. “While we were yet sinners, Christ 
died for ns.” A mother, driven from her home by 
an unfeeling landlord, perished in the mountain 
snows of Scotland. In a sheltered nook, wrapped in 
the mother’s clothes, her little child was rescued. 
The boy never forgot the story of his mother’s love, 
but he did forget the love of Christ, who died for 
him while he was a sinner. It is therefore Christ- 
like to risk one’s life to save an enemy from perish- 





102 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


ing. Can you pray for those who despitefully use you 
and persecute you? Jesus did, for His crucifiers. 
Can you do good to them who hate you? The 
heavenly Father sendeth His sun and His rain on 
the evil and the unjust. Can you forgive men their 
trespasses against you as God forgives you? If you 
can, you will ^ave yourself and may rescue the 
lost. 

The hand of forgiveness and the spirit of love are 
the only influences that can break down the prison 
doors of hatred and rescue the prisoner. The sun, 
with its gentle rays of light and warmth, is more 
powerful than lightning, earthquake, or volcano. It 
is the sun of divine love that gives life to the soul 
garden more than any other forces. Dying in the 
trenches or on the battle-field for one’s country is 
heroic, but dying to save the soul of your enemy is 
a loftier moral pinnacle. It is Calvary reaching into 
the heavens of splendor. One must never hate peo¬ 
ple but ever abhor, as you would a wild beast, evil 
actions, a wicked spirit and devilish designs. Even 
though a human face has become the portrait of a 
terrible monster within, yet Jesus died to cast the 
devil out. 


SACRIFICIAL SERVICE 

I John 3 : 16. “Because He laid down His life for 
us, we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” 
Is it not enough for the servant to be as his lord? 
Our hearts must bleed for men if we would bless 
them. Should not our prayers for the unsaved often 
include groans of agony, crying with Moses, “Blot 
me out of Thy book, but save this people alive”? or 
with Paul, “I could wish myself accursed for my 
brethren and kindred’s sake”? Oh for wrestling 
Jacobs who will not let thee go until the victory 
comes—who can die but never surrender! 

Dr. J. H. Jowett tells of one who prayed for loved 
ones, saying, “Promise me, dear Lord, that Thou 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


103 


wilt save them. Oh, give me a token that Thou wilt.” 
Then her Lord seemed to clasp her outstretched 
hand in His and to give her the promise. She felt 
a piercing pain as though a nail had been driven 
through the palm. She had become so absolutely 
one with the interceding Saviour that she entered 
into the fellowship of His crucifixion. Her prayers 
were red with sacrifice, and she felt the grasp of the 
pierced hand. 

Should we not be like the engineer who plunged his 
engine down the hillside to save his trainload of pas¬ 
sengers from running on a broken rail; or like the 
chaplain who gave his shoes and socks to a wounded 
soldier, suffering ever after from frozen feet; or like 
the firemen who every week imperil their lives to 
rescue people from burning buildings? Should not 
all Christians know more about sacrificial service, 
seeking to obey every call to come over and help 
those in sin, sorrow and need? 


VINE AND BRANCHES 

John 15 : 1. “I am the true vine, and My Father 
is the husbandman.” Jesus had just partaken of the 
Last Supper with His disciples. They drank of the 
fruit of the vine together. In this way they were in 
the future to show forth the Lord’s death till His 
second coming. They were to drink in remembrance 
of Him. The bread represented His broken body, 
the wine His shed blood. This Supper commemorates 
the victories on Calvary. It is the flag of the Cross. 

How natural it was for the Christ, while pouring 
out the juice of the grape, to say, “I am the vine; 
ye are the branches.” Our abiding in the Vine is ab¬ 
solutely essential to fruit-bearing. The branch has 
no power separated from the vine, for “without Me 
ye can do nothing.” When severed by sin, we must be 
reunited by a process similar to grafting. Then the 
branch is again one with the vine. The union is 





104 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


intimate and complete. If the branch is injured, the 
Vine feels compassion and sympathy, and rooted in 
the infinite heart of the Father, perfect union is en¬ 
joyed and communion. The Vine is glorified by the 
fruitage; one is essential to the other. The Vine 
says to the branches, “I am your life and power; I 
am with you always. I am Christ in you, the hope 
of glory, the power of the Cross, the life of the soul. 
Ye are witnesses of Me when ye bear much fruit.” 

The branch is like a wire to communicate the life 
the vine imparts to the growing fruit. The figure, 
however, fails when we know that we are living be¬ 
ings, like Christ, and that He is more than a wooden 
vine, the Holy One of God, the Creator of the Uni¬ 
verse, the Lover of the Human Soul. 


“BE NOT AFRAID ” 

Matt. 14 : 27. “It is I; be not afraid.” We never 
realize that we have fully seen the Lord till we be¬ 
hold Him in a storm. When the clouds are black, 
the winds high and the waves rolling, then to hear 
Him say, “Peace be still,” to feel tranquillity in the 
heart like the glassy sea where He is walking, is 
an experience never to be forgotten. We need to 
pass through some great exigency of loss, bereave¬ 
ment or persecution in order to realize how fully the 
divine presence comforts, sustains and enlarges our 
manhood. 

If our life has been in lovely valleys, amid beauti¬ 
ful gardens, flowers, and fruits, we have walked 
pleasantly with the Master and felt it good to be 
there; but when called to climb the summits of sac¬ 
rifice, to scale the heights of self-denial, bearing the 
cross up the rugged hill, what visions we have had 
of Christ’s power making us more than conquerors! 
What vistas of new horizons have appeared, showing 
that Delectable Mountains are grander than gentle 






Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


105 


valleys! Even the solitude of the desert is made 
beautiful by His divine indwelling. 

Christ comes so much nearer to the soul in the 
storm or on the desert, in solitude and suffering, than 
in hours of prosperity and happy surroundings. He 
speaks from the bush of fire to a desert wanderer 
that he may become a leader of the people of God, a 
helper to redeem a world. Such solitude is sweet if 
Jesus be there as a partner of our joy. He can 
make the desert blossom as the rose and make every¬ 
thing live whither His river of life cometh. 


THE VISION OF ETERNAL THINGS 

John 4 : 28. “The woman then left her waterpot, 
and went her way into the city.” The woman at the 
well had suddenly been transformed from a sinful 
person into a Christian missionary. Her vision of 
eternal things had eclipsed the little duties of the 
day. Christ had so revealed Himself that she for¬ 
sook all and followed Him. Self-surrender means 
self-restored, while the blurred image of the Crea¬ 
tor is brought out in its original beauty and purity. 

“In the beginning, God.” These are the first 
words in the Old Testament. “In the beginning was 
the Word”; the first words in John’s Gospel. Should 
we not always put Christ first, before business, 
pleasure, ambitions and social joys? With Christ 
the Father will freely give us all other things need¬ 
ful. Jesus must be the supreme passion of the soul. 
The devotees of this world have their leader; they 
are faithful to him. Christians have Christ, who 
has the words of eternal life, and the love of the 
Father. We should be so enamored of Him as to be 
willing to leave all for His sake. 

A story is told of a street-sweeper in Dublin who 
fell heir to great wealth. While in the middle of the 
street, the lawyer conveyed to him the news, and the 
old man stood, broom in hand and mouth wide open, 





106 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


in astonishment. He was so overjoyed that uncon¬ 
sciously he dropped the broom where he was stand¬ 
ing and followed the attorney to enter on his new 
career. He had always been careful of that broom 
before; but now he left it where it would be broken 
to pieces. So the woman of Samaria left her water- 
pot, and her noble decision saved herself and saved 
the citizens of Sychar. 


REFLECTING THE GLORY 

II Cor. 3 : 18. “But we all, with unveiled face re¬ 
flecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are trans¬ 
formed into the same image from glory to glory, even 
as by the Spirit of the Lord.” A certain glass win¬ 
dow had a sign painted on it in letters of gold. When 
the letters were removed, it was found that the sun’s 
continual shining had struck the letters through the 
glass so they could not be erased. The follower of 
Christ, by reflecting the image of his Master, be¬ 
comes more and more like Him, being changed into 
the same image from glory to glory. 

If the body and the mind take on the nature of 
what they feed upon, the soul absorbs and reflects 
the images formed within and hung on memory’s 
walls. The law of assimilation makes one like what 
he loves; therefore Paul, enumerating the graces of 
goodness, says, “Think on these things.” We must 
have a burning heart of love if we would become a 
shining light for others. 

When one, looking into a mirror, sees the image 
of the person behind him, he turns instantly and 
gazes upon the person whose image was reflected. 
So, if others see Christ’s image in you, they take 
knowledge that you have been with Jesus, and look 
unto Him whom you are personating and reflecting. 

Christ, the express image of the Father, could say, 
“He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.” Happy 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


107 


are we if we can have it said of us, “He that hath 
seen him hath seen a miniature of the infinite 
Saviour.” 


LOWER AND HIGHER 

Heb. 1 : 4. “Being made so much better than the 
angels.” David says of the glory of manhood, “Thou 
hast made him a little lower than the angels,” but 
Paul says, “Let all the angels of God worship the 
Christ.” The angels are ministering spirits to those 
whom Christ came to redeem, but Christ is the ex¬ 
press image of God’s person and at the right hand 
of the Majesty on high, swaying the scepter of right¬ 
eousness. What an infinite distance there is be¬ 
tween being a little lower than the angels and being 
Creator and Ruler over all worlds and peoples! Our 
Lord is in vast contrast with men and angels who 
are to worship Him. 

To which of the angels did He ever say, “Thou art 
My Son; this day have I begotten Thee,” or, “Thy 
throne, O God, is forever and ever,” or, “Sit on My 
right hand, till I make thine enemies thy foot¬ 
stool?” Christ did not die for angels but for men; 
therefore He took our nature. All His creations are 
but the garments of the Lord. 

Angels are to minister to the heirs of Him who is 
the Light of Life, the very God. Kiss the Son, love 
the Son, worship the Son, and you will know the 
Father. Man made a little lower than the angels 
shall be advanced through Christ, taking His nature 
to the higher altitudes of being crowned with glory 
and honor forever. Our Lord’s prayer for the glory 
He had with the Father was the right of Sonship and 
the right to redeem man, whose salvation is com¬ 
pleted or made perfect through suffering, wherefore 
He is not ashamed to call us brethren. 





108 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


HIS KINDNESS 

Isa. 54 : 10. “The mountains shall depart and the 
hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart 
from thee, saith the Lord, who hath mercy on thee.” 
The mountains symbolize the almightiness of God, 
inspiring us to sing, “I will lift up mine eyes unto 
the hills, whence cometh my help.” “God is our 
refuge and strength.” The mountains reveal the 
treasures embosomed in the valleys. Here are sample 
gems of coal, iron, gold, and silver, which were 
buried deep below. Their lofty grandeur and sub¬ 
lime magnificence inspire the artist and the wor¬ 
shipper. Their beauty awakens beauty in character 
and excites aspirations after the holiness of the 
Highest. 

Convulsions in nature once lifted the mountain 
ranges into view; so the agony of the Saviour on 
Calvary revealed the gems of love and mercy in the 
heart of the Infinite. 

But at last the mountains shall depart, when the 
earth will melt with fervent heat; but God’s moun¬ 
tains of refuge and sympathy will never depart from 
His children. What are called by men “the eternal 
mountains” one day will fall, but “My loving kind¬ 
ness will never cease from thee. My love outlasts 
all changes in nature, all the ages of time, and all 
the cycles of eternity.” 


THE VOICE OF GOD 

II Peter 1 : 18. “And this voice we heard when we 
were with Him in the holy mount.” If we will listen, 
we can hear the voice of God, especially if we are 
with Him in the holy mount of prayer and medita¬ 
tion. We ask everything in His name and for His 
sake who maketh intercession for us. He is our 
great High Priest, who has passed into the heavens, 
and who is with us always by the presence of the 






Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


109 


Holy Spirit. One never forgets the voice of Christ 
of loving tenderness when He whispers to the soul. 
How often we have felt it was good to be there, as 
we saw no man save Jesus only. We knew that it 
was no fable, no dream, but an everlasting reality. 
The Star of Bethlehem burst into the Sun of Right¬ 
eousness on that holy mount. There we found light 
for darkness, glory for gloom. Ever after that we 
realized that His sheep know His voice and know 
not the voice of strangers. 

It is not church forms and ceremonies that speak 
to us most loudly, though they may become the 
channels through which His loving voice resounds 
in our hearts. After hearing and seeing Him in the 
mountain vision, everywhere we look we exclaim, 
“It is the Lord!” This is the life more abundant, 
full as the abounding waves of the sea. When He 
walks upon its waters, we hear “It is I; be not 
afraid.” It is good to read about His Bethlehem 
birth, His Calvary death, His rising from the sepul¬ 
chre and His ascension into heaven. But oh, to know 
that He is yours forever, to hear Him say, “I know 
thee, I love thee with an everlasting love,” what joy 
unspeakable and full of glory! His perfect love 
keeps us in perfect peace while we journey toward 
the gates of light which will be lifted up for our 
entrance into His presence ever more. 


VISION AND MESSAGE 

Prov. 29 : 18. “Where there is no vision, the peo¬ 
ple perish.” One must behold the condition of the 
unrepentant soul in this and in the future life, in 
order to become an effective worker among the un¬ 
saved. Looking through the Bible telescope, he will 
see the multitudes of this world as Jesus saw Jeru¬ 
salem, when He wept over the city about to be de¬ 
stroyed by the Roman army. Faith in the divine 
Word and the illumination of the Holy Spirit are 





110 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


the eyes that behold the conditions of immortals in 
the world to come. The preacher must see his con¬ 
gregation as a company who are in a preparatory life 
for everlasting bliss or woe. How can he warn, 
plead, appeal, reason and weep over the lost ones 
without this vision? 

Thank Heaven, there is at the same moment an 
upward look we may take, so that the climax of the 
appeal may become a picture of the future life of 
the redeemed, the opposite of the regions of the lost. 
One must be able to give a vivid contrast between 
the devil and his dominions, and the Christ and His 
kingdom. He must be able not only to picture the 
awful wrecks on the shores of time, but the victori¬ 
ous landing on the golden shores of immortality. He 
must view also, in order to portray the vast gulf 
in this life between holiness and sin, the wide dis¬ 
tance between heaven and hell in the future. His 
idea must take in the development of the child of 
God in morals and noble manhood. He must reveal 
the mountain peaks of Christian attainment, urging 
all to climb heavenward. He must feel the wonder¬ 
ful powers of the world to come before he can make 
others feel. He must know what he proclaims by 
heart knowledge, by the revelations of the Bible 
and of the Holy Spirit. No one can paint pictures 
beyond his experience. 




IHebitatiuna About Unbiuibualo 

* 

THE LEGACY OF GREATNESS 

Prov. 10 : 7. “The memory of the just is blessed.” 
The glory of ancient nations is perpetuated by their 
wealth in noble characters. All else may have per¬ 
ished, but great and good men never die. Every pro¬ 
gressive movement in history had a hero for a leader. 
Men of just character have been the pioneers of the 
race, the architects of institutions that have blessed 
mankind. The glory of reformers grows brighter 
though the fallen nations lie buried in oblivion. 
Nations are not created for immortality. They are for 
the protection of undying millions journeying 
through time to the everlastingness of the future. 

Nations give liberty to the body, freedom and 
training to the mind, protection to property and life; 
while the man is building his individual structure 
for God’s eternal kingdom. Carlyle once said Eng¬ 
land would sooner give up her Indian empire than 
her Shakespeare. Is not America’s pride and glory 
in the names of a dozen men who have been the 
leaders in founding and preserving the Republic, 

The pillars of her people’s hope, 

The centre of the world’s desire. 

Keeping the memory of our heroes vivid helps to 
make us like them in their untarnished beauty and 
moral splendor. Do we not live for posterity when 
we live for present nobility? 

After men die, we look upon them from the stand¬ 
point of eternal things; the scaffolding is taken 
down; externals fall away, while the completed 


111 


112 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


edifice shines in the beautiful light of God. It may 
not be a desire for the highest aim to say, 

What can I do to be forever known 
And make the age become my own? 

But it is next to the highest, which is to be well 
known in the ages to come as the children of the 
Highest. 


JESUS AND JOSEPH 

Matt. 12 : 42. “Behold, a greater than Solomon Is 
here.” Our Lord, who often described Himself under 
the similitudes of nature, as the Vine, the Bread, the 
Light, the Sower, and the Shepherd, also compared 
Himself with some characters, like Solomon, but we 
must remember that Jesus had no peers, no human 
standing on a level with Him. He, in lofty, solitary 
grandeur, is above all forever. Our comparison is, 
therefore, considered on the human side. Solomon 
in all the glory of his artificial riches was not even 
arrayed like one of Christ’s beautiful lilies, while 
his inner character and life were infinitely below that 
of the Master. 

Joseph and Jesus might better be contrasted; 
Joseph in Egypt was faithful to the God of his 
fathers, while Solomon worshipped the false gods of 
his wives. Joseph had a mission for Israel in Egypt; 
Jesus a mission for all the world. Joseph was sold 
by his brothers into slavery. Jesus was sent of 
the Father to lift a race out of darkness. Joseph 
found a prison golden steps to the throne of Egypt; 
Jesus found Calvary the way to universal empire. 
Joseph was sold for twenty pieces of silver; Jesus 
for thirty. Joseph maintained an unsullied soul; 
Jesus was without sin. Joseph saved Egypt from 
famine; Jesus was the Saviour of the world from sin. 
Joseph forgave his brothers; Jesus is the infinite 
Forgiver. Joseph looked toward Canaan for Israel 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 113 


and Jesus toward the heavenly Canaan for the fam¬ 
ily of God. Joseph refused the glories of the Egyptian 
Empire; Jesus refused Satan’s offer for world em¬ 
pire. Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, say¬ 
ing, “I am Joseph,” as Jesus said to Paul, “I am 
Jesus, whom thou persecutest.” 

May we seek to be as near like Jesus as Joseph 
was. 


SYMPATHY AND SACRIFICE 

Gen. 22 ; 12. “For now I know that thou fearest 
God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine 
only son, from me.” God’s blessings come to us as 
to Abraham, when we willingly surrender our loved 
child at His call. In blessing He will bless thee, and 
in multiplying He will multiply thy service; 
especially if thou canst say “Blessed be the name of 
the Lord” when bereaved of thy child. 

Do not the lambs in His bosom bind our hearts 
closer to the Saviour? Was it not expedient for you 
and for them that they should be called away? 
Your lovely little one is yours forever now. No sin 
will ever stain its soul, no storm disturb its peace, no 
sorrow lessen its bliss. How, then, could you wish 
it back again? 

A pastor once said at the close of the funeral of his 
own child, “I have never been fully able to sym¬ 
pathize with sorrowing ones at the funerals I have 
attended until today. I know your anguish now as 
never before.” The heavenly life became more 
real when the mansion began to be inhabited by his 
children. If we could only know how much the 
children have gained in entering the life eternal, 
how many evils they have escaped, how rich their 
life will be forever, we would be more reconciled. 
If we could fully understand how the sorrows have 
mellowed our own hearts, molding us after the image 
of Christ, would we not sing praises over the triumph 





114 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


of the loved one, rather than dirges over our losses? 
Is not the anguish over a prodigal child far greater 
than the separation of the one now safe in the 
Father’s house? 

“Oh, not in cruelty, not in wrath 
The reaper came that day; 

'Twas an angel visited the green earth. 

And took the flowers away.” 


“I REMEMBER MY FAULT” 

Gen. 40 : 23. “Yet did not the chief butler re¬ 
member Joseph, but forget him.” When Joseph was 
behind prison bars, he made Pharaoh’s butler a 
special friend by giving an interpretation to his 
dream, saying to him that in three days he would 
be restored to his former position as cup-bearer to 
the king. When the hour came for the butler to be 
liberated, Joseph gently whispered to him, saying, 
“Think of me when it shall be well with thee.” Did 
the butler remember Joseph? Nay, nay; he was too 
much like many at the present day, who forget the 
friends and companions who have aided them in 
their deliverance and elevation. But when the butler 
could still further promote his own prosperity by 
aiding in the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream, the 
face of Joseph flashed upon him, and he exclaimed: 
“I do this day remember my fault,” which resulted 
in making Joseph the deliverer of Egypt. 

Our Lord did infinitely more for each one of 
us than the butler did for Joseph or than Joseph did 
for Egypt. He bought our freedom from the prison 
of sinfulness, by going to prison and judgment and 
death Himself. How can it be that those for whom 
He died should forget him? This is the colossal 
crime of ingratitude; the awful wickedness of 
treachery and desertion. We should exclaim, “This 




Meditations for the Quiet Hour 115 


day do I remember my fault, repent of my sin, and 
cleave to the man who died for me.” In the dying 
hour every sinner is ready to cry, “Lord, remember 
me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom,” and if 
the prayer is sincere, the answer comes back from 
the forgiving heart of Christ, “This day shalt thou be 
with Me in Paradise.” 


THE PATTERN OF THE DIVINE MASTER 

John 4 : 38. “Other men labored and ye are en¬ 
tered into their labors.” In Eastern countries, the 
tapestry weavers ofttimes are unable to complete 
the extensive pieces of workmanship during their 
lifetime, but as one dies another picks up the thread 
and weaves on according to the original design. Is 
it not so with the lives of evangelists, missionaries 
and ministers? They have labored and others have 
entered into their labors. “One soweth and another 
reapeth.” How beautiful the thought that all 
Christians are working together in the construction 
of character, that, like a vast mosaic, will adorn the 
walls of the gallery of heaven! 

We pick up the threads another has dropped and 
weave on after the beautiful pattern of the divine 
Designer, weaving in the Rose of Sharon, Christ 
the Redeemer and the Lily of the Valley, Christ the 
Resurrection; weaving in the dark background of 
suffering that the flowers and figures of self-sacrifice 
may become more brilliant. The weavers of tapes¬ 
try work on the dull, wrong side, and often never 
behold the completed masterpiece. So many weav¬ 
ers of character see only the sombre, afflictive, unin¬ 
teresting side of their life’s toil. The beautiful 
coloring, the artistic form, the perfect picture, will 
stand forth to greet the eyes of the multitude on 
examination day, when we shall be like Him and 
see as we are seen. 





116 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


THE SOUL’S SONG OF VICTORY 

Ps. 90 : 9, 14. “We spend our years as a tale that 
Is told. 0 satisfy us early with Thy mercy.” Moses 
the first hymnist of Israel, has completed his won¬ 
derful career. As he reviews his life, he sees the 
eastern mountains purpled with the splendor of 
God’s guidance, power, wisdom and blessing, while 
the western hills are resplendent with coming 
glories, beckoning the weary, aged desert traveler to 
the refuge of rest, 

Where everlasting spring abides, 

And never withering flowers. 

Moses’ song has been sung around the dying beds 
of millions for thirty-five hundred years, and read 
as appropriate words at the final services over de¬ 
parted loved ones. This psalm is a balm to the 
wounded heart, a comfort to the sorrowing, a 
solace to the aged, a hope for the sinful, a cheer for 
the dying. It encourages wisdom, faithful toil, true 
devotion; it calls on God for mercy, for holiness and 
guidance. It gives a thrilling picture of the brevity 
of the present and the everlastingness of the future. 
It recognizes that He who attends to the creation 
and continuance of the universe will not forget His 
human children. Moses no doubt had visions of the 
coming Messiah, whose beauty of holiness and mer¬ 
ciful loving-kindness he invoked in this psalm. “He 
endureth as seeing Him who is invisible.’’ “And he 
esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than 
the treasures of Egypt.” He knew our Lord would 
assume all our liabilities, and become the head of the 
firm of “God and Humanity,” that we might become 
joint heirs with Him to His unsearchable riches. 

The new hymn of immortals in glory is the “song 
of Moses and the Lamb,” uniting the Old and New 
Testament heroes in one glorious anthem of re¬ 
demption. On Sinai Moses cried: “Show me Thy 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 11 7 


glory.” On Nebo his prayer was fully answered, 
when angels bore him to the dwelling-place of the 
Almighty. 


JONAH AND NINEVEH 

Jonah 4 : 10, 11. “Then said the Lord, Thou hast 
had pity on the gourd, .... and should I not 
spare Nineveh V 9 Jonah refused to go to Nineveh be¬ 
cause, knowing that God was merciful and kind, he 
feared the prodigal city would repent and be for¬ 
given, and he, like the elder brother, would be invited 
to attend the festivities of rejoicing instead of the 
ruin. He had an eye upon his reputation as a 
prophet at Jerusalem, as well as upon Nineveh, 
which might conquer his own people if not de¬ 
stroyed. These considerations led him to flee from 
the Lord’s call. 

How true it is that the natural human heart hates 
the enemies who are growing stronger and rejoices 
at their downfall. It is also a fact that the Jews be¬ 
lieved that it was their mission to help overthrow 
Gentile and heathen people; therefore, the Pharisees 
hated Jesus for affiliating with publicans and sin¬ 
ners. Peter himself required a vision to convert him 
to the idea of the salvation of the Gentiles. 

While Jonah waited for the result of his preach¬ 
ing, God prepared a gourd that its broad leaves 
might shade the prophet from the sun, and also a 
worm that, like an affliction, withered the gourd. 
Jonah had deep feeling for the death of the perish¬ 
able gourd, but little for the one hundred and 
twenty thousand immortals in Nineveh. 

We see here a lesson of the fatherhood of God 
and the brotherhood of man, long before Paul was 
commissioned to the Gentile world. 

For the moment, Jonah, like Elijah, was so com¬ 
pletely discouraged that death seemed the best way 
out of the difficulty. He dreaded to deal with a God 





118 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


of mercy, for he had not yet heard of prayer for 
emenies and blessings for those who despitefully use 
you. 


MAP OF CHARACTER 

Ex. 34 : 35. “And Moses’ face shone.” The gospel 
of the human face reflecting soul beauty is what 
men like to behold. Spiritual wisdom and holiness 
ever make man’s face to shine. Wearing such a face 
is to illuminate all about you, letting others see what 
Christ is like, that they also may glorify the Illum¬ 
inator. 

The soul looks out through the face to tell men 
of its inner life. It is said that Gladstone and Web¬ 
ster, in moments of exaltation, during mighty efforts 
of oratory, wore faces transfigured, as if the face 
had been an alabaster lamp lighted from within. 
The last night that Savonarola spent on earth before 
he was burned for the truth, he seemed to dream 
and smile. The light of heaven was already gather¬ 
ing on his brow. God and angels seemed near, kiss¬ 
ing his face. 

Victor Hugo, in Les Miserables, gives a lovely 
picture of the light on the face of the noble Bishop, 
as Jean Valjean, the burglar, stands at midnight 
ready to kill him. The good Bishop has fed the 
starving man and given him a room for a night’s 
lodging, and now the criminal stands ready to strike 
the blow of death, in order to rob the house and flee. 
But the radiance on the Bishop’s face, the luminous 
glow of peace, startles the murderer’s conscience, 
and prevents his striking the blow. Think of the 
horrible hideousness of the sinful soul standing be¬ 
fore the glory of the face of Christ at the judgment 
day. No wonder that they will pray for rocks and 
mountains to fall upon them and hide them from the 
face of the Holy One of God; for only the pure in 
heart can look upon Him and live. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


119 


THE PROMISE TO JOSHUA 

Deut. 31 : 8. “He it is that goeth before thee; He 
will be with thee; He will not fail thee, neither for¬ 
sake thee.” Moses thus communicates God’s words 
to Joshua, his successor, as he is about to ascend to 
heaven from Mount Nebo. Joshua might well trem¬ 
ble in view of his youth and the great achievements 
which he was expected to accomplish. He felt 
strong in the strength of Almighty God, as he went 
forth under the encouragement of the wonderful 
promises Moses had announced from the divine 
Ruler of mankind. He believed victory would crown 
his leadership, that God would go before him and be 
his rearward. He judged the future by the past. He 
believed that the God who had led Moses for forty 
years would not desert him. He believed the Jeri- 
chos would fall and that Israel would become the 
great nation divinely promised. 

Does not divine providence go before each indi¬ 
vidual, preparing the way for every to-morrow? The 
earth, God's storehouse, has been filled with sup¬ 
plies for the needs of His peoples. Here are hidden 
rivers of oil, beds of coal, a multitude of minerals; 
here are fields and forests and streams and sunshine. 
He has gone before us all, leading us in the way of 
light and happiness. His Almighty power will not 
fail thee. His resources are inexhaustible. All we 
need to do is to consecrate all our powers to the 
service of His kingdom, believing what He says, “I 
will never fail thee nor forsake thee; fear not, be not 
dismayed.” Joshua could not see the future except 
in these blessed words of Omnipotence. He was 
willing to battle for the right, never doubting that 
the words of his commission were from the divine 
Father, the ruling Power of the universe. Joshua 
triumphed gloriously; every one may do the same 
who toils and fights and trusts. 





120 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


MIRIAM 

Num. 12 : 1. “And Miriam spake against Moses, 
because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had mar¬ 
ried.” The name Miriam is the Hebrew for Mary. 
She is the Mary of the Old Testament—a woman of 
strong, noble character, the wife of Hur and the sis¬ 
ter of Moses and Aaron, and a distinguished leader 
among her people. As a little girl she was faithfully 
watching the basket boat of her baby brother, float¬ 
ing amid the bulrushes of the Nile, when the Egyp¬ 
tian princess came down to wash in the water. The 
baby crying at just the right time touched the hearts 
of the ladies, and shrewd little Miriam procured 
Moses' mother for the nurse, to care for the little 
fellow. Thus Miriam saves Moses and enriches the 
world. 

The next view of her devotion is with Israel on the 
banks of the Red Sea, after the overthrow of Pha¬ 
raoh’s hosts. There she is leading in the glorious 
song of triumph. 

When Miriam was advanced in years, she, with 
Aaron, revolted against Moses for marrying an Ethi¬ 
opian woman, not because of her color, but she was 
a foreigner, and race prejudice was very strong. 
Miriam mutinied against the authority of Moses. The 
venom of her tongue was destroying the influence of 
God’s appointed prophet; therefore the Almighty 
smote Miriam with leprosy, and Moses, though he 
had been sadly wronged by his own sister, cried out 
in prayer for her cure, saying, “0 Lord, heal her 
now.” And his petition was answered. Wonderful 
meekness and brotherliness of Moses! An instruc¬ 
tive lesson to the Miriams that create divisions in 
families! We should heed God’s command, “Do my 
prophets no harm.” 




Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


121 


DEBORAH’S VICTORY 

Judges 4 : 14. “And Deborah said unto Barak, 
‘Up! for this is the day in which the Lord hath de¬ 
livered Sisera into thine hands.’ ” Israel being with¬ 
out a king, Deborah conies to the rescue. She in¬ 
spires Barak to gather ten thousand troops and to 
attack Sisera. She was a singer and leader among 
her people. Her songs excited to heroic devotion. 
Her country was at this time at the mercy of the 
savage Canaanites, who carried away the children 
of the people and destroyed the fruits of the field. 
With great faith in God she cried, “Up, Barak, and 
lead thy captivity captive.” How ludicrous it looked 
for ten thousand of Israel to meet three hundred 
thousand of the enemy, who had, besides, ten 
thousand horses and nine hundred chariots of iron! 
How disdainfully Sisera must have looked upon his 
feeble antagonist! But during the battle a terrible 
storm filled the empty river beds with a torrent that 
swept the chariots of the Canaanites to destruction. 
Deborah, the prophetess and soldier, had won a 
great victory for her country. Then she sang her 
immortal song, which came out of struggle and 
suffering: 

The Lord came down for me against the mighty; 

The stars in their courses fought against Sisera! 

O my soul, thou hadst trodden down strength. 

Let them that love Him be as the sun, 

When he goeth forth in his might! 

So Luther sang, 

A mighty fortress is our God: 

A bulwark never failing. 

Deborah's victory came in answer to prayer and 
faith; the mightiest battallions did not win. Weak, 
unprepared, undisciplined Israel triumphed glori¬ 
ously. A noble woman teaches the world that right 
and truth will win against force and might. 





122 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


JESUS AND SINNERS 

Heb. 11 : 31. “By faith the harlot Rahab ... re¬ 
ceived the spies with peace.” Matthew gives the 
names of only four women in the ancestral line of 
Jesus—Ruth, the Gentile, and three others, Tamar, 
Rahab, and Bathsheba, two of whom were harlots 
and the last one of questionable moral character. He 
who came to save the people from their sins came 
along the line of great sinners. In His human na¬ 
ture dwelt the strongest passions which hereditary 
descent could transmit. Therefore, how truly it 
could be said of our Lord, “He was tempted in all 
points as we are, yet without sin.” 

Is there not some striking significance in Christ’s 
coming, not from a line of noblest characters in Bi¬ 
ble history, not from those highest in the walks of 
life, but from several who were sunken in the low¬ 
est depths of immorality? Was it not that He might 
make His appeal to save unto the uttermost all who 
would come unto God by Him? The salvation of re¬ 
demption is from sin; every degree of sin; it is by 
faith, such as Rahab exercised. It is a salvation 
for all the Gentile world whom Ruth represents, as 
she enters the royal line. Jesus’ life and death, as 
well as His ancestry, awaken hope in the heart of 
the deepest-dyed criminal on the footstool. Christ 
was hated by His countrymen for associating with 
the outcast publican, Roman tax extortioners, as 
well as with the worst sinners in society. He was 
accused of having a devil for mingling with the 
devil’s own. 


SEEING THE DIVINE PERFECTION THROUGH 
NATURE 

Luke 12 : 27. “Solomon in all His glory was not 
arrayed like one of these.” In the gala period of 
another springtime let us worship in nature’s ca- 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


123 


thedral, where birds and zephyrs sing, where every 
flower and tree speak of Him who has made every¬ 
thing beautiful in its time. Beauty was born when 
God said: “Let there be light!” Come, let us wor¬ 
ship; let us bow down, let us commune with nature's 
God, look through the seen to the unseen; for the 
sky, field and mountains are but reflections of the 
beauty of His holiness. 

These are God’s galleries of art, poetry, music and 
beauty; the symbols of His inner being of love, good¬ 
ness and truth. Holiness could not help being beau¬ 
tiful, beaming from the face of the glorious Creator 
of all color, form and splendors in His wondrous 
worlds. 

Some worship only the reflection of His face in 
nature, the image instead of the Author, the paint¬ 
ing instead of the grand Original, the esthetic and 
artistic rather than the ethic and real. The Greeks 
adored the bodily form of beauty and the cultured 
mind; but they failed to behold the perfection of the 
eternal Father. All the separate rays of beauty in 
language, nature, art and music, we may trace up¬ 
ward to the central majesty of the Son of righteous¬ 
ness. 


A BROTHER’S LOYE 

Gen. 44 : 2. “Put my cup, the silver cup, in the 
sack’s mouth of the youngest.” Benjamin trembled 
when the silver cup was found in his sack. He did 
not know that it was a loving-cup from his lost 
brother Joseph; that it was placed there so as to 
bring the favorite brother to Joseph’s arms again, 
as well as to reveal Joseph’s forgiveness to all his 
brethren. Joseph must have said to himself, “If I 
let Benjamin go now, I shall never see him again 
to tell him of my great love.” 

The most beautiful brotherly scene in the Bible is 
when Joseph, with eyes flooded with tears and heart 




124 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


bursting with emotions, revealed himself to his terri¬ 
fied brothers by kissing all the older ones and throw¬ 
ing his arms around the neck of Benjamin, pouring 
out upon him the wealth of his heart’s love. 

Jesus our Elder Brother, seeks to bring us back to 
Himself by sending the Holy Spirit’s convicting 
power into our hearts. How fearful and trembling 
we are when we return to the Saviour we have 
abused! Like culprits we stand before Him await¬ 
ing our sentence, when, lo! He reveals Himself, the 
compassionate Saviour, who loveth us and gave 
Himself for us, “the Friend who sticketh closer 
than a brother.” Have we not betrayed Him and 
sold Him as the brothers sold Joseph? Does He not, 
like Joseph, receive us with open arms and feed us 
at His own table? Are not his storehouses full of 
the bread of life for all who will come unto Him, 
without money and without price? Christ puts the 
silver cup of salvation to our lips, brimming full 
with the elixir of life, and tells us to go and bring the 
father, the mother, and all the family into His man¬ 
sions of splendor, where there is room enough and 
to spare. 


THE WICKED WOMAN 

I Kings 21 : 23. “The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the 
walls of Jezreel.” Jezebel of Hebrew history was 
reproduced in Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth. She was 
Phoenician, as were the merchants and seamen of 
those ancient times. She was considered the evil 
genius of her husband, Ahab, introducing the wor¬ 
ship of Baal, her own religion of shameless idolatry, 
which resulted in the overthrowing of the worship 
of Israel’s God. 

Elijah summoned the hundreds of prophets of 
Baal to a test of the true God on Mount Carmel; 
it was a conflict of spiritual forces between the false 
and the true. Jehovah was triumphantly vindicated, 




Meditations for the Quiet Hour 125 


and the wicked prophets slain on the banks of the 
River Kishon about twenty miles from the city of 
Tyre. Ahab and the devotees of idolatry were com¬ 
pletely overcome by this display of divine power. 

But Elijah had Jezebel to reckon with, and he 
found one terrible woman more than all the hosts of 
Baal. After she had sworn that she would take his 
life on the morrow, Elijah, the hero, the courageous 
prophet, the man of God, fled in dismay and in de¬ 
feat. 

A while after, Jezebel caused the murder of Naboth 
in order to obtain his vineyard for her king. When 
Ahab trembled, she said, like Lady Macbeth, “Give 
me the dagger.” Jehu was God’s avenger; he slew 
Jezebel’s son and grandson, kings of Israel and 
Judah, in the very Naboth’s vineyard. Ahab was 
killed in battle while Jezebel waited for news at her 
palace window. She rallied at Jehu as he appeared, 
defying him to the last. The servants, being or¬ 
dered, threw her from the window, and the horses 
trod her under foot. 

When one goes wrong, one sinks to the lowest 
depths of iniquity, trampling under foot God’s laws, 
goodness, holiness and guidance, dying as the fool 
dieth, in impious ruin. 

THE HEROISM OF ESTHER 

Esther 4 : 16. “If I perish, I perish.” When the 
Jewish nation was in peril, owing to the wicked 
Haman’s hatred of Mordecai, Esther exhibited the 
spirit of a true heroine, daring death in being will¬ 
ing to go before King Ahasuerus. At first, Esther 
seemed only a beautiful maiden who had won the 
admiration of the monarch after the banishment of 
Vashti. When Mordecai knew that the king’s edict 
had gone forth, his only human hope was in his 
great niece Esther. He believed that she had come 
to the kingdom providentially for this momentous 





126 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


hour. The very loveliness of her face seemed God- 
given to solve the problem of danger. 

There was a law in her way that she was not to 
go before the king unless invited; it meant death to 
disregard this rule. Esther commanded that her 
people should observe fasting and prayer for three 
days, when she said she would go before the king, 
and “If I perish, I perish.” Hers was the true spirit 
of patriotism, of martyrdom, giving herself for her 
countrymen. True, she believed that her God was 
able to deliver, and she may have had the assurance 
in her heart that he would do so. “But if not, if I 
die I die as the coming Messiah will die for all 
mankind.” 

Esther won the favor of the king, and saved her 
own life and that of all the Jews in the Persian 
realm. This noble woman lives today in the memory 
of the Jewish people, in the observance of the feast 
of Purim, which commemorates the great deliver¬ 
ance. Is not hers an inspiring sentiment for every 
one in hours of danger; when the lives of others are 
at stake, when a whole nation is in peril?—“If I per¬ 
ish, I perish.” 


THE POWER OF CHOICE 

Ruth 1 : 16. “Entreat me not to leave thee.” 
Ruth, the loving daughter, clings to her mother-in- 
law Naomi because she is fascinated and charmed 
with a holy affection for the God of heaven and the 
people of His kingdom, whom Naomi has so devoted¬ 
ly represented in her life. Though a Moabitess, she 
forsook her own people for the worship of the God of 
Israel. She was called out of the Gentile world to 
enter the line of Christ’s ancestry. Ruth and Naomi 
are thus united to each other closer than by family 
ties, becoming devoted lovers, like David and Jona¬ 
than. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 127 


When Boaz married Ruth, Naomi found a home for 
herself with the wealthy farmer. They are happy 
again together in one family. The haby, Obed, is to 
become the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of 
King David, and Ruth become the ancestress of 
Christ; so that through her act of self-denial and 
devotion all the families of the earth are blessed. 

How little we understand of the immense signifi¬ 
cance of a single, apparently unimportant decision. 
By Ruth’s saying. “Thy people shall be my people 
and thy God my God,” unspeakable joys came upon 
her own spirit and a world of wealth to posterity. Is 
it not so when we leave the company of evil persons 
and unite ourselves to the children of God? Think 
of the heirship to the wealth of heaven, of the citi¬ 
zenship of the saints in light. Let us then come out 
from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of 
Christ. 

Is not the power of choice, next to the glory of 
existence, the greatest blessing heaven has conferred 
upon mortals? Every soul stands at the parting of 
the way. going upward or downward. How long 
halt we when we know the immense interests hang¬ 
ing in the balance of decision! 


THE EVER LIVING DEAD 

Prov. 10 : 7. “The memory of the just Is 
blessed.” It is said that the blood of patriots is the 
seed of liberty and that the soil out of which such 
men are made is good to be born on, good to live on, 
good to die for and good to be buried in. 

It is blessed to know that the Blue and the Gray 
are now united in defense of the American Republic, 
standing shoulder to shoulder for the rights of 
mankind. Today the whole nation turns its thoughts 
toward the sleeping heroes and the few remaining 
veterans of the great conflict. Flowers will beautify 





128 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


burial grounds and orators will recount deeds of 
daring. The memories of our heroes are truly in¬ 
spirations to the living. While we visit the galleries 
of recollection beholding the faces of those who 
died that we might live under the best government 
among men, we feel strengthened to do and dare 
by remembering their heroism. Forgetting to re¬ 
member is the treachery of ingratitude. Every mem¬ 
orial service and every decorated grave should say to 
us, “Do this in remembrance of me.” 

Nineveh, Babylon and Rome forgot God and their 
heroes and therefore perished. In our day we should 
listen to the voice, “Son, Remember!” Remember to 
emulate the heroism, the virtues and devotion of 
the fallen patriots; remember to perpetuate the 
liberties for which they died, handing down to suc¬ 
ceeding generations the heritage purchased by costly 
treasure and precious blood. Remember that the 
flower-strewn mounds are only upon the dust of 
bodies. The stars, the flowers of the sky, adorn 
the crowns of victors. The soldiers who won 
triumphs for the nation also won victory over death 
for themselves. We must look higher than the tomb 
for those who camp upon the plains of immortality. 
They have joined the hosts of the skies; the armies 
of peace, purity and everlasting friendship among 
the comrades of the Cross. 

“THE WEEPING PROPHET’’ 

Jer. 1:6. “Then said I, ah, Lord, I cannot speak, 
for I am a child.” God told Jeremiah that he had, 
from his birth, called him and sanctified him as a 
prophet to the people. Jeremiah, being but a young 
man, hesitated about accepting the call. The Spirit 
replied to him, “Be not afraid of their faces; I am 
with thee to deliver thee. I have touched thy lips 
and put my words in thy mouth, and thou shalt 
speak whatsoever I command thee.” 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 129 


Why was Jeremiah called “the weeping prophet?" 
Why did he write Lamentations? Was it not be¬ 
cause of his great devotion to his countrymen, who 
he saw had fallen into idolatry and infidelity? He 
also beheld the judgments that were impending. He 
was compelled to become a preacher of unwelcome 
truths and was considered a gloomy croaker, a 
misanthrope, ever prophesying evil. Jeremiah was 
truly the prophet of a broken heart, crushed by the 
burdens of his people’s sins. But for forty years he 
spoke what God gave him. Unlike Peter or Luther, 
he had a sensitive and a delicate, diffident nature; 
preferring seclusion rather than publicity, where he 
could weep and pray for the redemption of Israel. 

Like other prophets, he did not behold the deliver¬ 
ance which he had hoped to see, but he built better 
than he know. Great glories were on the near hori¬ 
zon. His sorrowful life had accomplished more than 
he realized. He plowed deep, he wept sore; he 
scattered the good seed of the kingdom broadcast, 
and now the golden harvest belongs to him forever. 
Tears are wiped from his eyes; solitary no longer, 
no more prisons or banishment. His rejoicing will 
be throughout eternity. “Blessed are they that 
mourn, for they shall be comforted; and they that 
hunger shall be filled." 


THE SUBMISSION OF JOB 

Job 1:9. “Then Satan answered the Lord, and 
said: Both Job fear God for naught?” The devil 
claimed that Job would curse God if he lost all his 
earthly treasures, and the heavenly Father allowed 
the testing. How he stood the trial, after property, 
health, loved ones and everything was gone, is re¬ 
vealed in this remarkable book. Job triumphantly 
exclaimed, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in 
Him." “I know that my Redeemer liveth. I 





130 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


shall behold Him and not another.” “I have heard 
of Thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye 
seeth thee.” 

Job made no complaint against God for his re¬ 
verses. He was submissive to the divine will, saying, 
‘‘The Lord gave and the Lord taketh away; blessed 
be the name of the Lord.” Would it not be a crucial 
trial for Christian millionaires to descend to beg¬ 
gary, for a king to lose his crown, for health to give 
way to horrible illness, for all the loved ones in the 
family to be called to the eternal world, and for the 
wife to side with enemies and critics while they 
chided him for his sins? 

Job knew that he had been a sincere follower of his 
Lord. He could not solve the meaning of his great 
affliction, but he believed some time he would un¬ 
derstand. He knew his God was able to deliver him 
and that He would if it were best for his kingdom; 
that he could make all things work together for his 
good and for God’s glory. He was willing to drink 
the cup put to his lips, as Jesus did in the garden; 
Peace came to Job after patience. For one hundred 
and forty years Job lived and flourished, and the 
Lord gave him twice as much as he had before. If 
the universe were on one side and God on the other, 
the true Christian, like Job, would forsake all ma¬ 
terial riches, health and earthly happiness for the 
Almighty alone, exclaiming, ‘‘Whom have I in heav¬ 
en but Thee? and there is none on earth I desire be¬ 
side Thee!” 


GOING DIRECT TO JESUS 

Luke 7 : 19. “Art thou He that should come, or 
look we for another V 9 No wonder that hours of 
gloom came over the soul of John the Baptist in his 
prison life, where he had little to do but to think 
and pray. Activity makes one brave, for in the heat 
of battle fear is forgotten. When great crowds fol- 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 131 


lowed the Baptist, he could exclaim, “Behold the 
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the 
world. I baptize with water, hut he shall baptize 
you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Thus John 
lifted the curtain and introduced Christ to men, but 
in the lonely prison, knowing that great crowds were 
not attending Christ’s ministry and that he was not 
really attempting to burn the chaff and gather the 
wheat into his garner, he had moments of great de¬ 
pression. His faith failed him. He felt that he had 
to be certain, for the sake of himself and his own 
disciples. He took no second-hand opinion, but sent 
directly to Jesus. Our Lord did not make a public 
profession of His deity; He would not trust to lan¬ 
guage to express so great an event. He virtually 
said to John’s questioner, “Believe Me for the very 
works’ sake, and tell John that the blind see, the 
lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, 
the dead are raised, and to the poor the Gospel is 
preached.” Jesus then turned to the people and 
uttered a most beautiful eulogy upon the character 
and life of John the Baptist. The imprisoned hero 
must have been fully satisfied when the words of 
Jesus were reported to him. No one would blame 
him for desiring absolute certainty about the great¬ 
est question and personage in all history. When 
one is sure he has found the ever-lasting Saviour, he 
is sure of everything else needful in this world and 
the world to come, but without Him he is at sea, 
without compass or rudder. Jesus is our Captain 
and Guide, the solution of our doubts, the Companion 
of our journey, the Way, the Truth and the Life man 
is to travel forever. 


CHILDHOOD 

Luke 1 : 66. “What manner of child shall this be?” 
When John the Baptist was born, this was the won¬ 
der, “What manner of child shall this be?” Is not 





132 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


this the greatest question mortals can ask regarding 
the little immortal? Generally the child will be 
what the home influence makes it. The first seven 
years will probably decide its destiny. What a prob¬ 
lem for parental care and guidance! 

Eli’s children were a sample of mistaken home 
government. There must be law as well as love in 
the family life. The children must be governed or 
they will govern you. Eli’s mild expostulation, “Why 
do you do such things?” was one cause of their ruin. 
The Word says, “He restrained them not.” 

At the first, the governing must be through fear: 
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” 
And the fear of disobeying the parent must prevail 
in the little mind before it can be influenced by the 
affection and the sense of right and wrong. We must 
mean every word we say to the child. The continued 
repetition of the word “don’t” becomes a familiar 
sound, losing its effect. Let thy words be few, but 
full of meaning. 

Is it not true that the young people never forget 
the father’s reading the Bible and the family prayers 
every morning and the kneeling at the mother’s knee 
every night to say the little prayer, and then those 
never-forgotten songs that were sung around the 
fireside when friends came in to enjoy the hospitality 
and social life of the home? These indelible records 
stored away in the memory are reproduced later in 
life, like words and music in the phonograph. They 
are the first impressions, which last the longest, at a 
time when the mind is plastic and receptive. Let us 
never leave to the Sunday school and the church 
what should be accomplished first in the home. 


THE BEIVEDICTUS OF ZACHARIAS 

Luke 1 : 64. “And Zacharias’ tongue was loosed, 
and lie praised God, shouting, ‘Blessed be the Lord 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


133 


of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His peo¬ 
ple.’ ” The tongue of the dumb shall sing when the 
Holy Spirit of God brings blessed news to the soul. 
Unbelievers may be voiceless, but let everything that 
hath the breath of faith praise the Lord, because we 
may all serve Him without fear, in holiness and 
righteousness all the days of our life. 

St. Augustine said of this song: “0 blessed hymn 
of joy and praise, divinely inspired by the Holy 
Ghost! Oh, may Thy words be often in my mouth, 
and the sweetness of them always in my heart! The 
expressions Thou usest are the comfort of my life; 
and the subject Thou treatest of the hope of all the 
world!” Praise, the perfume of the flowers of the 
heart, rises like incense unto the highest heaven. 
One has said: “Let me make the songs of a people 
and I care not who makes their laws.” 

Was it not the Holy Spirit’s inspiration that burst 
forth in Zacharias’ song? Such effusions rise from 
soul rapture without preparation or previous medi¬ 
tation. It is as if heaven had set the soul on fire 
with love, and like David, giving expression to 
noblest feeling, it exclaims, “The Lord hath put a 
new song into my mouth, even praise unto our God.” 


“THE HANDMAID OF THE LORD” 

Luke 1 : 46, 47. “My soul doth magnify the Lord; 
my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” 

“O wondrous mother, was there ever joy like thine? 
To thee it came, that message from the Highest! 
Such as to woman ne’er before descended; 

The Almighty’s wings thy soul o’erspread, 

And with thy life the life of worlds was blended!” 

What sublime, ecstatic rapture must have filled the 
soul of Mary as she sang “All generations shall call 
me blessed!” Not wise nor rich nor great, but 





134 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


blessed, through her Son becoming the world’s 
Saviour! 

This song is a sublime prophecy, crystallizing the 
hopes of the world since creation's morning. It re¬ 
counts the past goodness of God and idealizes the 
glorious future of Christ’s kingdom. How enchanting 
must have been the announcement of the angel 
Gabriel as he whispered the wondrous words that the 
Holy Son of God should be born of her. Such words 
had never been spoken to woman before. How her 
imagination was thrilled with bright hopes, blossom¬ 
ing into the praise of holy song, as she received this 
message to gladden the millions of earth! 

Prophets had predicted, but no mortal lips would 
ever have uttered what the angel said. She knew the 
world would scorn her, misunderstand her, and per¬ 
haps her affianced, Joseph, might forsake her; yet 
she triumphantly exclaimed, “Behold the handmaid 
of the Lord! Be it unto me according to Thy word!” 

God gave Mary no palace, no chariot, no worldly 
glory, no earthly distinction. To become the mother 
of the Son of God—that was greatness beyond that 
of any other mortal. 


THE WARMING OF PETER 

John 18 : 25. “And Simon Peter stood and warmed 
himself.” It is dangerous for any one to warm him¬ 
self among the comrades around the devil’s fire. 
Peter was bold and courageous when defending his 
Lord before the mob, but when alone among ene¬ 
mies, convinced that Christ would not defend him¬ 
self, Peter surrendered his soul to Satan, deserted 
the disciples, denied his Lord, sealing his lie with 
an oath. But the old love for the Master was aroused 
when Peter beheld the wonderful face of the sympa¬ 
thizing Christ. 

When Jesus died, Peter must have given up all 
hope of the success of Christ’s mission. Consorting 




Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


135 


with John on the morning of the resurrection, he no 
doubt said, “Oh, if I had not denied Him! Oh that 
He would take me back into His love again! I shall 
never forget the look of agony He gave me at my 
fall.” Suddenly the woman who had seen the risen 
Christ came to John and Peter, saying, “The Lord is 
risen! He said, ‘Go tell the disciples and Peter.’” 
At the mention of his name, Peter was filled with 
hope. It meant that he was to be forgiven and re¬ 
stored to the Master. 

The second fire where Peter warmed himself was 
on the shore of the sea where his Lord had built a 
fire for the morning meal, and where the old fire of 
love was newly kindled in Peter’s heart, and where 
he received his great commission to go and feed the 
flock of Christ. When the question came, “Lovest 
thou Me?” the answer, “Lord, Thou knowest that I 
love Thee” was full of penitence, contrition, and de¬ 
votion. The next fire was on the day of Pentecost, 
when Peter’s tongue was set on fire by the Holy 
Spirit, so that he could preach a sermon which would 
bring thousands into the life of the burning heart. 
Are there not many others loitering in bad company, 
near the flames of perdition, who should come away 
and be baptized with the heavenly fire of love? 


REPROOF IN A LOOK 

Luke 22 : 61. “And the Lord turned, and looked 
upon Peter.” The most noted artists have failed to 
reproduce that wonderful facial expression of Christ 
upon canvas, and the writers of the Gospel did not 
attempt a pen portrait, but divine light etched the 
Saviour’s look upon the walls of Peter’s memory, 
never to be effaced. Our Lord could not make a 
gesture, for his hands were tied; He could not speak 
His reproof, for He was being hurried by soldiers. 
It was just a look. It was oceans of love, pity, and 





136 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


compassion, looking out through eyes of God-like 
longing for Peter’s soul. It was a gaze so full of 
forgiveness, loving-kindness and gentleness, that the 
truant apostle, who was only a few hours from the 
communion table, was overwhelmed with the mag¬ 
nitude of his betrayal. 

In the agony of his pain, he hid himself away, 
where he could weep and pray. He saw that he had 
pierced the side of Jesus deeper than the spear 
could go; he had driven the nails of denial into the 
very heart of his Lord and put Him to an open 
shame, at a time when Jesus was on trial for His 
life! Peter knew that Christ had been praying for 
him on Calvary, when he heard the precious message 
of love on the morning of the resurrection, “Go tell 
the disciples and Peter that I have risen from the 
dead.” 


PILATE’S DECISION 

Matt. 27:26. “He delivered Christ to be cruci¬ 
fied.” It is said that about one hundred and fifty 
leading artists of the world have portrayed the 
scenes during the night of the trial and crucifixion 
of Christ. Munkacsy’s “Christ before Pilate” is 
considered the most celebrated. Pilate, Caiaphas, the 
mob, a company of the Sanhedrin and a row of 
judges make up the picture in the Homan judgment 
hall. Christ stands in the center, showing weariness 
from His sleepless night of suffering. His glance at 
His enemies is searching and fearless, so much so 
that Pilate trembles as if on trial himself. 

The actors in this great trial, rather than Jesus, 
have been pronounced guilty by all succeeding gen¬ 
erations. Pilate, standing between the Jew and the 
Roman government, tried to release Jesus, whom he 
believed to be innocent. But at last, yielding to the 
clamor, “he delivered Christ to be crucified.” 

Since that hour the songs of the poets, the tongues 




Meditations for the Quiet Hour 137 


of the learned and the brush of the artist have vied 
with each other to portray the sufferings of the 
Saviour and the enormity of sin. In the words “He 
died for me” are reposed the faith and hopes of 
myriads of human beings. 

“Behold the God Man” is the cry of the Bible, of 
every Christian pulpit and of all true followers of 
the Christ. Every individual has Jesus on his hands 
for decision, saying, with Pilate, “What shall I do 
with Jesus who is called the Christ?” Pilate, warned 
by his wife, by his conscience, by his judgment and 
by his God, at last sentenced him to death. Will you 
do the same? Will you be a vacillating, time-serving 
trimmer, trying to avoid a decision? You should 
know that “he who is not for Me, is against Me.” 


THE SOUL’S LOYE FOR ITS REDEEMER 

John 21 : 17. “Thou knowest all things; Thou 
knowest that I love thee.’’ Why should I not love 
thee, “Jesus, Lover of my soul?” Thou didst choose 
me from before the foundation of the world, that I 
should be holy and without blame, before Thee, in 
love. Thine eyes didst see my substance before my 
birth; Thou didst bend over my babyhood with 
the compassion of the mother God, when I was too 
little to love Thee back. I am accepted in the Be¬ 
loved; how precious are Thy thoughts unto me! 
Having loved me before my beginning. Thou wilt 
love me unto the ending, and then in the unend¬ 
ing life. Thou didst ascend to prepare a place for me 
among the palaces of eternity. Thou hast wrought 
out robes for my wedding feast, that are without 
spot or wrinkle or blemish, worthy of the Bride, the 
Lamb’s wife, made white in His blood. Thy heart 
has become as my heart, that I may love as Thou 
dost. 

0 may I never distrust Thee, displease Thee, or 





138 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


dishonor Thee, who hast loved me with an everlast¬ 
ing love! May I always believe that Thou wilt never 
leave me alone, never forsake me nor forget me! 
May I at last hear thy voice, whispering, “It is 
enough; come up higher, unto the riches of My 
glory, unto the love of My bosom, unto the home of 
My everlasting residence.” 


GREATNESS AND HUMILITY 

John 21 : 3. “I go a fishing.” From the resur¬ 
rection Peter decided to resume his former humble 
occupation. Is it not generally so with a faithful 
soul? We do the little and the low things after the 
glorious visions. After the Transfiguration, the 
healing of the child occurred as they descended into 
the valley of life. Every newly saved soul goes to 
the common toil with a joy and peace unspeakable 
and full of glory. Work does not interfere with a 
devotional spirit; it is godlike to work. All duties 
are holy when the heart is right. Drudgery never 
interferes with communion with the risen Master. 
The restored Peter is at his former toil. When he 
sees his Lord again, he wishes to be found at his 
old honest occupation rather than be listlessly wait¬ 
ing for another vision, or meditating over the glories 
of the resurrection. If we are faithful over a few 
common things, He will make us ruler over many.- 

Great gifts and callings grow out of the ordinary 
duties of life; somebody must always continue doing 
lowly duties to sustain those called to the extra¬ 
ordinary. Cincinnatus, after his victory as the 
general of Rome, returned to his farming life. Emer¬ 
son loved to work in his garden as a change from 
his study. Every one should be able and willing to 
follow lowly toil when not demanded for loftier 
achievements. The multitudes of laboring men make 
possible the success of the great leaders in discov- 







Meditations for the Quiet Hour 139 


eries, in reforms, and in the realm of thought. The 
twelve disciples represented thousands of followers 
who were working together for the spread of Christ¬ 
ianity; the little things we have done will be large 
in the light of eternity. 


WHAT IT MEANS TO CARRY OUR CROSS 

Mark 15 : 21. “And they compelled one Simon to 
hear His cross.” Jesus’ body was subject to weari¬ 
ness and illness like our own. His night of agony in 
the garden before the court of trial had produced 
great physical exhaustion. He bore the greater cross 
of the world’s sin and salvation on His soul, without 
sinking, but the wooden cross was too heavy for His 
weakened body. No other could bear His heart 
cross, as Simon did that of the bodily load. 

We think we should like to have been in Simon’s 
place, helping the Master in the awful hour of His 
suffering; but we may help Him more now by tak¬ 
ing up our cross daily and following Him. Our 
cross is to surrender self and live for Christ and 
humanity. We are not forced to bear this cross 
except by the compulsion of love. Bearing the cross 
means to us life more abundantly and a crown of 
glory. Jesus’ cross means to Him the infinite bliss 
of loving lost men, the joy of seeing a race of immor¬ 
tals redeemed by His blood. 

How heartless were the men who were hurrying 
Christ up Calvary’s summit! They would not give 
Him a word of sympathy nor a hand of help. They 
refused to bear the wooden burden, putting it upon 
an innocent man. Their evil hearts would crush 
the Christ, rather than aid Him in His mission to 
save a world. Jesus used His all power, praying for 
His persecutors, rather than saving Himself. 





140 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


PAUL’S FRIENDS 

II Tim. 4 : 16, 17. “No man stood with me, but 
the Lord stood with me.” Paul at Athens and 
Corinth had to face unbelieving audiences alone. He 
deeply felt the need of an associate in sympathy with 
his work and himself. Demas had forsaken him; 
Mark had turned back; Alexander did him much 
evil; Silas and Timothy had not yet arrived. So 
Paul, the noble apostle, had to stand alone among 
strangers, preaching the new Gospel. 

Athens was called the eye of Greece and Greece 
the eye of the whole Gentile world. Paul had failed 
to impress Athens; would he repeat that failure at 
Corinth? These were no doubt among his thoughts 
as he approached the city in trembling and in soli¬ 
tude. How much he felt the need of Christian fel¬ 
lowship and friendship in that critical hour! True, 
the Lord stood by him and strengthened him, but the 
soul craves companionship from those who are on a 
plane with humanity. Paul was a preacher of tender 
and affectionate nature. To some converts he once 
wrote, “Now we live if ye stand fast in the Lord.” 
The Epistle to the Philippians is a sweet love-letter 
where he says, “My longed for, my joy and crown, 
my dearly beloved.” Oh, how Paul hungered for 
such fellowship, which was next to holding com¬ 
munion with Christ Himself! Once He wrote Timo¬ 
thy, “Do thy diligence to come unto me; take Mark 
and bring him with thee, and salute all the brethren 
in the Lord for me.” 

Paul’s friends were fellow workers, true Christian 
soldiers; he had little sympathy with those who 
turned back. He was so enraptured with Jesus that 
he could not have close friendship among those who 
were not like-minded. He wanted to mingle with 
those who are all one in the Saviour’s sanctuary. 
“As Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, so may 
they be one in us.” 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


141 


A “MUST” IN EVERY LIFE 

Acts 19 :21. “I must see Rome.” Paul said to the 
Ephesian elders that he must go to Jerusalem, not¬ 
withstanding the dangers that seemed to threaten 
him, and added, “I must also see Rome.” He never 
took back his words to Jesus, “Lord, what wilt Thou 
have me to do?” The pathway of his life was ever 
made plain to him by angelic messengers and the in¬ 
fluence of the Holy Spirit. He could ever say, “I 
come to do Thy will, 0 God!” His divine call to 
Rome came seven years before he was privileged to 
enter the city. It was the call of God, not of a church. 
There were no salary or promises mentioned except 
that, in every city, bonds and afflictions awaited him. 
It made no difference to the heroic apostle that he 
went as a prisoner to the prisons in Rome. He was 
willing to stand between the spears of paganism and 
the jeers of Judaism, if he could preach the Gospel in 
Rome also. 

When he appealed unto Caesar, Rome was com¬ 
pelled to pay his moving expenses. After many 
perils, his longing eyes beheld the central city of the 
world. He had believed God, and now His promise 
was verified. 

Every faithful Christian feels this “must” in his 
life. It is the voice of duty, the call of God, indicat¬ 
ing the divine plan in one’s destiny. It is not a sud¬ 
den impulse or a fleeting imagination, but the con¬ 
scious certainty of heavenly guidance. 

Under this influence, Paul said to the imperilled 
passengers, “Do not jump overboard; abide in the 
ship, and you will be saved; for I must see Rome.” 
Paul’s Epistles written in the Roman prison have 
influenced the world for many centuries in the past 
and will reach out into the most distant future. 
Rome became the apostle’s Calvary, from whence he 
ascended to his crown of glory. 





142 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


THE SCARS OF SPIRITUAL CONFLICT 

John 19 : 34. “Bat one of the soldiers with a spear 
pierced His side.” Paul said, “I bear in my body the 
marks of the Lord Jesus.” He was branded with the 
marks of the stoning at Lystra, of the teeth of the 
wild beasts at Ephesus, of stripes at Philippi, of rods 
three times that penetrated to the bone. Verily, 
Paul was crucified with Christ. He died daily, like 
Jesus on Calvary; he was in jeopardy every hour. 
Paul was proud of his scars; they were the seals, 
the insignia of his Christ-like ministry. He was the 
slave of Christ, branded so no one else could claim 
him. 

Every Christian has his Calvary; we die to self 
and sin; the soul bears the marks of spiritual pain, 
self-denial, persecution, temptation, and tribulation. 
Spiritual scars are the keenest kind of crucifixion. 

Sin brands souls and bodies with a superscrip¬ 
tion of fallen character, so Satan will know his own. 
The stamp of iniquity is indelible to all powers ex¬ 
cept the blood of Jesus. He can reconstruct, trans¬ 
form, recreate the fallen majesty in ruins, and re¬ 
store His own image where it shone first in glorious 
manhood. 

THE DEATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS 

II Tim. 4:7. “I have fonght a good fight, I have 
finished my conrse, I have kept the faith.” The hour 
is nearly come for Paul to put his head in the mouth 
of the lion, Nero; but it is better to be a martyr than 
an emperor, to wear a crown of righteousness than 
of golden, perishable glory. To the world, Paul's 
life seemed a failure; to saints and angels it is one 
of majesty and heroism, just about to be ushered into 
the presence of the multitude of the redeemed. With 
perfect love casting out the fear of death, Paul meets 
the monster with joy; even longs that mortality 
might be swallowed up of life, that he might depart 




Meditations for the Quiet Hour 143 


and be with Christ, who hath abolished death and 
brought life to light. 

To Paul, dying was but changing climates of the 
tempestuous and deadly for the healthful shores of 
the heavenly Paradise. Paul has fought the battle 
of life to a triumphant victory, won the race for the 
crown, and is now being covered with unfading 
laurels, as he is about to enter the celestial city. The 
evening time in his prison cell is bright with the 
brightness of the eternal morning. To him to live 
was Christ; to die was gain. Many a Christian sol¬ 
dier, when he comes to unloose his armor and look 
toward home, finishes his course amid songs of joy. 
John Wesley, when dying, kept repeating Watts’ 
hymn, “I’ll praise my Maker with my breath.” At 
last, he could get no further than, “I’ll praise, I’ll 
praise.” Lord Shaftesbury, when dying, said to his 
daughter, “Read to me the words beginning, ‘The 
Lord is my Shepherd.’ ” When she reached the verse, 
“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of 
death, I will fear no evil,” a gentle smile came over 
his face, for he felt the mighty comfort of the beauti¬ 
ful song as he passed through the gates of life. 


TIMOTHY 

I Tim. 1 : 2. “Unto Timothy, my true child in the 
faith. From a child hast thou known the Holy Scrip¬ 
tures.” The apostle Paul might not have been able 
to lead Timothy to Christ’s ministry if he had not 
been taught the Scriptures by his mother Eunice and 
his grandmother Lois. It is as natural as breathing 
for a child to come into the church who has been 
reared in a holy home. Paul had tested Timothy in 
many ways so that he could now call him “my true 
child.” He had found him faithful everywhere. In 
the ministry he preached the Word, not his doubts 
about the Word, not old wives’ fables, nor about vain, 
foolish questions. His sermons were about the 





144 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


glorious Gospel of Christ. Timothy had fled youth¬ 
ful lusts, holding faith in a good conscience, study¬ 
ing to show himself approved of God, enduring hard¬ 
ness as a good soldier. How proud Paul must have 
been of this young convert! 

Timothy may not have been beautiful in counte¬ 
nance or brilliant in mind, entertaining socially, or 
rich in wealth, but he was more than all that, faith¬ 
ful and true in heart and life. Timothy built on the 
sure foundation, so that on his monument could well 
be written, “Faithful and true.” When parents are 
priests of their households, having a church in the 
home, where children begin to worship and where 
their moral qualities are molded, they become the 
noblest characters of the race, the faithful subjects 
of governments, and the worthy children of the 
family of the Highest. 


GIVING FREEDOM TO THE SOUL 

Rev. 21 : 1. “And there was no more sea.” John, 
a prisoner on the lonely isle of Patmos, separated 
from all his friends, looked towards the heavenly 
shores and exclaimed, “There shall be no more sea” 
—of separation or limitation. 

There are many limitations in the Christian life 
outside of prison walls. Are we not all prisoners of 
hope, struggling to become free from some unfavor¬ 
able environment? There are the “shut-ins,” who 
long for liberty to do and dare, but Christ is with 
them in their solitude, inspiring souls to act un¬ 
der restrictions. Mrs. Bella Cooke for sixty years 
was imprisoned into a single room by illness, but on 
her bed of pain she wrote three wonderful books 
that have been a blessing to thousands of readers. 
She made her little room a meeting-place where the 
charity of the rich and the poverty of the poor met 
together in beautiful harmony. There are others 






Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


145 


whose lives are limited by losses, trials and sorrows, 
who trust in Him who is able to make adverse things 
work together for good. Faith in Christ will burn 
all barriers away, giving flight and freedom to the 
soul. 

Often we beat our heads like birds against the 
bars of our cages of impassible circumstances, only 
at last to find the cage a blessing, for, as birds sing 
sweeter in cages, so the melody of the soul becomes 
richer when hemmed in by sorrow. 


GEORGE WASHINGTON 

Ps. 121 : 8. “The Lord shall preserve thy going 
out and thy coming in.” Every great nation begins 
with a providential hero. Histories are biographies. 
Noble men form the literature of life. Of the world's 
greatest characters, George Washington is one of 
the loftiest on the colossal list. He is called the 
“Kohinoor diamond in the crown of the Republic,” 
shining with spotless purity. 

As God brought Moses out of Egypt into Canaan, 
so he brought Washington and his countrymen out 
of tyranny into liberty. Washington won his vic¬ 
tories on his knees, his faith in an overruling Provi¬ 
dence was complete. He attributed his moral and 
Christian character, under God’s blessing, to the 
example and precepts of his faithful mother. Among 
his distinguishing traits was his punctuality and 
veracity—his truthfulness in word and faithfulness 
in deed. Faithful in that which was least, he be¬ 
came exalted to that which is greatest. He was 
silent and thoughtful, rarely ever speaking of him¬ 
self. 

For seven long, weary years, he became a volun¬ 
tary exile from his beautiful Mount Vernon home. 
His life and his fortune were willingly laid upon 
the altar of his country. He lived the hard life of 






146 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


his half-fed soldiers, in self-sacrificing consecration 
to the principles of liberty. He gave Old Glory to 
the free air of America, an emblem of fraternity, 
equality and pure democracy. Abraham Lincoln put 
more color into its crimson, greater luster into its 
stars, and brighter blue into its heaven of hope. 


THE HEART'S SACRED PLACES 

Gen. 28 : 16. “Surely the Lord Is in this place.* 
There is a beautiful legend about Zaccheus, who, 
while he was sitting on a branch of a sycamore, first 
spied Jesus. It is said that Zaccheus in his old age 
used to go every morning to the tree where he first 
saw the Lord. He would pour water upon its root 3 , 
pull up the weeds he found growing there and look 
up long and lovingly at the branches where he had 
sat on that blessed day when he first saw Jesus. 

Are not all places sacred where troubled hearts 
first saw the Lord? Memory sweetly recalls the day 
and spot, though we may be unable to visit the scene. 
Every church is sacred where souls have found 
Christ in the midst. It is to them the very house of 
God and the gate of heaven, for they realize “the 
Lord is in this place,’ ’for “this and that man was 
born here.” 

Every place of worship should be dear to us, for 
it is where the army of the Lord gathers to make 
“prisoners of hope” of rebels against the kingdom 
of God. Rev. J. R. Miller says: “Should we not do 
for the church what Zaccheus did for his tree? Visit 
it often, daily water its roots by prayers, toils and 
tears; keep the weed away, so far as your own life 
is concerned, and make it a place of blessing to many 
more.” 




Meditations for the Quiet Hour 147 


NAPOLEON’S CONVERSION 

James 4 : 14. “For what is your life?” There are 
moments when one reviews the pathway of the pa3t 
and the possible journeying of the future. Napoleon 
on the island of St. Helena reached such a pivotal 
point in his career. In was there he viewed some of 
the great mistakes in his life. He saw the greatness 
of the Christ and the littleness of himself. Standing 
on that lonely island, with his hands behind his 
back, gazing at the deep, dark waters of the solemn 
sea, he reviewed his brief but momentous life, com¬ 
paring it with the life of the Saviour. Jesus lived 
and died for others; Napoleon lived for self and 
ambition. His many mighty victories in battle 
failed to comfort him now. The buried millions of 
soldiers seemed to rise up to condemn him, while 
other millions of living sufferers sang a song of 
sorrow in his ears. 

He saw that Christ, the Prince of Peace, was 
growing stronger in the love and regard of man¬ 
kind; that millions today would die for Him, though 
He passed away eighteen centuries before. He 
said: “Alexander and Caesar and I have founded 
great empires upon force, but Jesus alone founded 
His empire upon love. No other human being is like 
the Saviour of the world; He is more than a man. 
I must be visibly present to electrify my soldiers, 
but Christ’s influence stretches across the chasm of 
the centuries. He asks the human heart for Him¬ 
self and forthwith the demand is granted. Time, the 
great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish the sac¬ 
red flame of love in believing hearts. This proves to 
me the divinity of Jesus Christ. 0 Only in Christ 
could he regain what he had lost and rise to become 
a subject of Christ’s kingdom. 






148 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


LOOK UPWARD, NOT DOWNWARD 

II Cor. 10 : 12. “But they, comparing themselves 
among themselves, are not wise.” John B. Gough 
once told how he found the Lord. He was a poor, 
drunken wretch, walking the streets of New York 
City, almost starving. He soliloquized thus: “Why 
has the Lord left me cold and hungry? I have only 
been tempted and fallen like many other people; 
why does not God take care of me?” Then the 
thought flashed upon him, “You may be as good as 
many other persons, but you are not as good as God 
or Christ.” Then he said to himself, “I ought to be 
hungry; I am a miserable sinner. I deserve to die.” 
Then and there he resolved to become like Christ and 
nevermore compare himself with others. The next 
policeman he met, he asked him where he could get 
some crusts of bread, and he handed him a roll from 
his pocket. 

During Gough’s wonderful career as an orator and 
reformer, he ever refrained from comparing himself 
with other fallen men, but ever compared himself 
with the life of Christ. Our ideal should be nothing 
less than the divine Saviour. We should never be 
satisfied till we are in His likeness, ever asking our¬ 
selves the question, “What would Jesus do?” We 
should ever follow him, not our stumbling, falling 
human brothers, saying, “I am as good as many 
church members,” in order to quiet a troubled con¬ 
science. Such excuses will not avail in the final 
appraisement of soul-valuation. 


FALLING AT HIS FEET 

Rev - }„■ 1J- “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet 
as dead.” Happy are we if we have fallen at His 
feet, dead to self and sin, for then we are risen 
with Him in newness of life and can ever say, with 
Paul and John, “Have I not seen the Lord?” 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 149 


It may be your lot has been cast in isolation and 
loneliness, far away from home and friends; but 
with the Divine Visitor all the heavens break upon 
your sight with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 
You may have thought that your only companion 
was Tribulation, but when the Master comes He 
brings all heavenly beauty with Him and fills the 
horizon with the splendor of His presence. 

Jacob, in desolate banishment, saw His Lord as 
the golden ladder to the skies. Stephen, stoned, be¬ 
held, like John, the heavens open and the Christ 
waiting to embrace his spirit. Isaiah, enraptured 
at the sight of the Lord, high and lifted up, cried out, 
“Here am I; send me”; and Paul whispered, “Lord, 
what wilt thou have me to do?” 

One can never be the same person after a view of 
His presence. Visions of Him are not merely ecstatic 
moments of bliss, but, like the Transfiguration, they 
are for service in the valley among the multitudes. 
After John’s Patmos vision, he penned the three 
Epistles, the fourth Gospel and the crowning book 
of the Bible—Revelation. He has thereby exerted 
an influence as great as any other writer in the 
Holy Scriptures. 

Here is the supreme moment in the life of a 
human soul when we respond to His call, “Come 
unto Me, and I will give you rest.” After worshiping 
and consecrating all at His feet, after hearing the 
sacred words from His loving lips, and after feeling 
His pierced hand upon the brow and resting our 
head upon His wounded breast, no wonder a new and 
glorious life begins, full of eternal years and heav¬ 
enly fellowships. 





150 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


HOW CHRIST MAKES US FREE 

Philemon 1. “Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ.” 
Philemon, perhaps you thought I was a Roman pris¬ 
oner, or Nero’s prisoner; that I was delivered over 
into the hands of my enemies, and that it would 
have been better if I had never seen Rome. Oh, no, 
Philemon, I am the prisoner of Christ. He knew, 
when He said that I must preach the Gospel at Rome 
also, that I would have a prison for a pulpit; just as 
Joseph and Jeremiah and John the Baptist and Peter 
and John had—they were all prisoners of Jesus 
Christ. 

Philemon, don’t forsake me because I am perse¬ 
cuted. It is Jesus’ hands that hold me, in love— 
not the manacles. 

Prisons are palaces when Jesus abides with me. 

My Mamertine prison may become a spiritual 
power-house for all the centuries. Philemon, you 
remember when I was in the Caesarean prison and 
the Philippian jail, how kings heard the Gospel and 
the jailor’s family were converted. My whole Chris¬ 
tian life is much like a prison to me; but when I am 
weak, then am I strong; when I have nothing, I 
possess all things. When I die it is gain, and to 
live is Christ; for He is with me everywhere. 

Philemon, when I am chained, the message is 
liberated, for my soul is unfettered in its daily flight 
heavenward. You remember Joseph graduated from 
a pit to a prison and thence to a throne. I am on 
the same road, soon to finish my course and receive 
a crown that fadeth not away. 

No, Philemon, Nero is the prisoner, for he is bound 
by chains of gold, thongs of habit, shut in by bars of 
passion, lust and crime. He cannot unclasp the 
chains of appetite, nor break through the iron doors 
that hold him. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


151 


JESUS' LOYE 

Rev. 1 : 5. “Unto Him that loved ns, and washed 
us from our sin in His own blood.” Jesus is the in¬ 
finite Lover; He loved, He loveth, He will love for¬ 
ever more. He loveth enough to die for us that He 
might loose us from our sins by His precious blood. 

All the disciples of Jesus had passed away but 
John, the one whom Jesus loved with a special af¬ 
fection. John, on the lonely island of Patmos, in 
banishment, believed that the Saviour loved him 
still; and while he believed, Christ Himself appeared 
unto him, and told him to write the things “which 
thou hast seen and the things which shall be here¬ 
after.” 

In writing the Saviour’s warnings to the seven 
churches, the climax of His words to each one was, 
“He loveth us still.” Although you have fallen away 
from your first love, He hath come from heaven to 
earth again to bid me win you back to His embrace. 
You, who have loved the world of lust, of passion, of 
drink, of gold, of power, of all sinful pleasure—hear 
me, my fallen children: He loveth us still! Return, 
ye wanderers, return, and help to sing the everlast¬ 
ing song, “Unto Him be glory and dominion and 
power forever and ever.” 

The aged John had a glorious meeting when he 
was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day. Jesus revealed 
to him words and views which he has portrayed in 
his Gospel, his Epistles and the hook of Revelation, 
so that all the world might know the meaning of his 
wonderful visions. Christ has spoken through him, 
the beloved disciple, greater things than even when 
he ministered among men. He came to speak to 
those who had fallen away. 







152 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


DALLYING WITH DANGERS 

Hosea 12 : 8. “And Ephraim said, Yet I am be¬ 
come rich; I have found me ont substance; in all my 
labors they shall find none iniquity in me that were 
sin.” Often men have greater faith in themselves 
and their acquirements than in God. This is when 
they have much goods laid up for many years and 
are well contented with their own accumulations, but 
are blind to their inward sin. They boast themselves 
in their evil pleasure that they can soon leave it off 
when they see the habit getting too strong. What 
confident cleverness in the midst of rioting pas¬ 
sions! Gambling, drinking and lustfulness are un¬ 
dermining the soul, while they are all unconscious 
of the danger. Walking on the verge of the gulf o*. 
ruin, they fail to realize that it is but one step more 
out of life into the eternal future. 

What presumptuous sinners we are, presuming on 
God's mercy and on our own finite strength to re¬ 
sist! Other men may be weak, but not we our¬ 
selves. “Let him that thinketh he standeth take 
heed lest he fall.” If we listen, we could hear the 
heavenly Father saying, “0 Ephraim, Ephraim! how 
can I give thee up!” But, unalarmed, we continue to 
dally with danger, dying with maladies, at the same 
time fondled by society and praised by false friends. 
We presume that the poisonous serpents of sin will 
not bite; that the flames of passion will not burn; 
that the strength of will will not fail. 

The cemeteries are full of people of similar confi¬ 
dence, who, always on the down grade, never turned 
an upward look toward God in Christ, who alone 
could rescue them and guide them in the way ever¬ 
lasting. How many Ephraims are secretly borrow¬ 
ing money from the bank or cash drawer with the 
good intention of paying it back after they win in 
their investments! But, alas, they lose. The home 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


153 


and family are disgraced by the proud-spirited man 
who never expected as a criminal to inhabit the 
walls of a prison. 


POWER OF LITTLE THINGS 

John 6: 9. “There is a lad here which hath five 
barley loaves and two small fishes; but what are 
they among so many?” If any one will do his best to 
use what talent he has, he will be successful. What 
matters it how small the lad or the loaves when we 
place our all into the hands of the Christ? He can 
multiply our power and gifts till they will bless 
thousands. Therefore we should never forget to 
rightly estimate the riches of the Silent Partner in 
our firm. 

St. Martin, upon entering a certain city, saw a 
beggar asking alms. Having no money to give, he 
took his knife and cut his cloak in half, giving the 
beggar one of the halves. That night he had a 
dream. He saw Jesus, who had on His shoulders the 
half of his cloak he had given to the beggar, and he 
heard the sweet words, “Inasmuch as ye did it unto 
one of the least of these, ye did it unto Me.” Our 
little gifts go a great way when they reach the Mas¬ 
ter. He increases our influence and our charities till 
they become worldwide, blessing the giver with joy 
and the multitude with plenty. He will make our 
little efforts by His miraculous power work together 
for the greatest good. 

How much did earth’s poor ones leave? Elijah let 
fall an old mantle for Elisha as the chariot rolled 
him up the avenues to his mansion. Jesus left a 
seamless coat, but not even that could his weeping 
mother take for herself. Paul left a holy life and 
the immortal Epistles, worthless to those who re¬ 
fuse to follow his example. Lazarus left a worn- 
out body at the rich man’s gate when the angels bore 





154 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


him away to the palace of the King. The apostles 
and martyrs left bleeding bodies for glorified spirits. 
Wondrous exchange! Having nothing, yet possess¬ 
ing all things; poor, yet making many rich! 


FIRM HOLD ON GOD 

Gen. 32 :26. “I will not let Thee go, except Thou 
bless me.” Jacob, David and Peter had serious falls, 
but they were men after God’s own heart, because 
their faces were always toward the loving Father in 
penitence and contrition. Jacob found Bethel the 
house of God and the gate of heaven to his prayerful 
soul. He found the ministry of angels at Mahanaim 
and the great baptism of the Spirit at Jabbok. Here 
was the last great crisis of his life. Esau was com¬ 
ing with an army to destroy him. Alone with God 
he wrestled until the break of day, when he cried 
out in holy desperation, “I will not let thee go, ex¬ 
cept Thou bless me.” Heaven loves such passionate, 
irresistible calls of prayer. The fervent is the 
effectual. The self-life must die in the suppliant. 

Jacob must be made over so completely new that 
his very name, meaning “supplanter,” or self-seeker, 
must become Israel, a prince having power with God 
and with man. Jacob knew that the name of God 
was love as he never understood it before. He who 
had been false now became true. He who had been 
weak and vacillating became strong. Ever after that 
victory God was the God of Jacob. 

Have we prayed the prayer, “Tell me, I pray Thee, 
Thy name”? Then we knew that nature and name 
are one and the same—the blessed fulness of love. 
Have we ever been in dead earnest, wrestling for vic¬ 
tory at the throne of heavenly grace? Have we 
touched the scepter of the Almighty and heard that 
we should have not half, but the whole of His king¬ 
dom? Have we connected with the central city of 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


155 


God, sending our passionate messages for the sal¬ 
vation of the world ,and felt ourselves the thrill of 
infinite power? Have we been crippled in our own 
strength in order to be crowned a prevailing prince 
of God? Have we clung with unyielding grasp by 
faith when we could not wrestle any longer, crying. 
“I will not let thee go”? Oh, then, what waves of 
glory rolled over our spirit; what a heaven of angels 
in our heart! 


THE ANSWER TO THE CALL 

Acts 9 : 4. “And he heard a voice saying unto 
him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me.” Saul was 
not a favorite child who received this special visit 
from the Master. For all Christ died and unto all 
His loving voice invites: all are precious in His 
sight, even the savage, the blasphemer, and the 
persecutor. The universe, like a mighty organ, 
peals forth the melody of the divine voice, calling us 
unto Himself. The music of nature, of the Holy 
Spirit, of angel anthems, of Scripture songs, all are 
calling to the bosom of the Father. How many 
answer, “Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth,” 
“What wilt Thou have me to do?” or “Here am I; 
send me!” 

Are we willing to go, to do, to obey, to suffer for 
His sake? When He says, “Come unto me and I will 
give you rest,” do we come, do we rest? When the 
Master comes and calleth for us to go and do per¬ 
sonal work among our neighbors or into far-away 
countries, have we gone? Have we obeyed like 
Ananias, who was told to go into the street which is 
called Straight and inquire in the house of Judas for 
one called Saul? Have we followed the directions, 
and did we lead a crushed penitent into the liberty 
of the sons of God? How many have prayed to be 
excused from such a personal mission, fearing ridi- 




156 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


cule, persecution or humiliating refusal? We should 
have gone obediently, saying to the awakened one, 
“Brother Saul, Jesus hath sent me that thou might- 
est receive thy sight and be filled with the Holy 
Spirit.” 

Think of the honor and glory that came to Ananias, 
who helped to transform Saul the persecutor into 
Paul the greatest apostle of all time. What if he 
had refused to go? Another would have taken his 
crown, studded with stars, and worn it through all 
the endless years. 


SDIEOJPS FAITH 

Luke 2 : 29, 30. “Now, 0 Lord, lettest Thou Thy 
servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; for 
mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.” Simeon had 
not seen anything but a little baby in its mother’s 
arms, yet the same Spirit that told him he should 
not see death till he had seen the Lord Christ re¬ 
vealed the Child Jesus unto him in the temple as 
the coming Saviour of men. Simeon knew nothing 
of the wonderful words and works of Jesus that 
would occur during His life, nothing of the spread of 
Christianity during the coming centuries. But he 
realized that the fulness of time had come, and that 
God had sent forth His Son in the flesh, for whom 
the world had waited during four millenniums. What 
prophets had longed to behold, his gladdened eyes 
now saw. His faith covered the victorious march of 
the Son of God through all coming time. He be¬ 
lieved God, seeing the triumph from afar. He saw 
the Light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory 
of his people Israel. No wonder he exclaimed with 
indescribable ecstasy, “Now, Lord, let me go where 
I may help celebrate the salvation of the world in 
thy nearer presence, among saints and angels!” 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 157 


Faith is a vision that sees the end from the be¬ 
ginning. It is unlimited as God. By the revealing 
power of the Holy Spirit, as well as of Christ’s own 
word, Jesus’ second coming has been portrayed to 
the minds of the writers of the New Testament. 
Though a day with the Lord is as a thousand years, 
and a thousand years as one day, the apostles be¬ 
lieved that He would come again quickly, and ex¬ 
claimed, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” In only a 
few days of those thousand years each He will be 
here to reign. What visions John had of Christ’s 
glorious coming on the lonely isle of Patmos; how 
perfectly he painted them for mankind in the Book 
of Revelation! He could pray as Simeon did and go 
home, to return to his Lord, in the establishment of 
His everlasting kingdom. Jesus revealed Himself 
to Paul, and told him about His future appearing 
and glorious triumphs, and he told all the ages. 
Oh that our dull eyes might be opened, like those 
of Elisha’s young man, to see the vision of the 
coming Christ, escorted by His heavenly host, to 
meet His victorious saints on earth and unite all in 
His one glorious Kingdom! 





Me&ttatiotta of ijmtt t attb 3famxli| ffiife 


* 

CHILD CONVERSION 

Mark 10 : 14. “Suffer the little children to come 
nnto me.” A divinely moving star would not be ex¬ 
pected to rest over a stable, but over a palace, or to 
point down to uncultured shepherds amid the cattle, 
but to gatherings of royalty and splendor. Jesus’ 
life began in the humblest place, that He might 
reach down to the lowliest child. He knew that it 
was easier to rise to the highest when we begin with 
the lowest, for those who are loftiest must come 
down to the humility and simplicity of childhood if 
they would enter the kingdom of heaven. 

The Christ Child is the type of poverty and help¬ 
lessness of multitudes of little ones. All may gather 
about him in their thought and feel at home in the 
lowly manger. Our Lord knew that if He could 
win childhood He could win the world. Is it not the 
great mission of the Church to win the child? With 
the children in the kingdom, soon there will be no 
more war, revenge and hatred among the nations; 
no more bigotry and jealousy among the churches. 
The wilderness and solitary places will be glad and 
the desert blossom as the rose; the coming of child¬ 
hood to Christ will hurry His second coming. If all 
childhood would do as did Eva Booth, the Comman¬ 
der of the Salvation Army, the Lord’s victory over 
sin and Satan would be won. Eva’s birthday was on 
Christmas Day, and when she was seven years old 
she arose from her bed at night and crept down 
stairs to her mother’s bedside, and there, she says, 
“in my mother’s tender embrace, I sobbed out all my 


158 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


159 


wish to give a Christmas present of myself to Jesus 
on His birthday and my own. The wonderful new 
joy that came to me has made it quite impossible for 
me ever to doubt the absolute reality of a child’s 
conversion.” 

If parents and pastors would do their whole duty 
to childhood, there would be a wonderful revolution 
in the Christian world. What if all mothers were 
like Susannah Wesley and Catherine Booth, training 
the children in the home for the conquest of them¬ 
selves and for the drawing of all men unto the Re¬ 
deemer? Is not this the greatest achievement of 
mortals? Starting right in the morning of life means 
going right all the way. Every child may not be a 
Wesley, a Luther or Knox, a Washington or Lincoln, 
a Miss Willard or an Eva Booth, but every one may 
be a child of God, in His great family, fulfilling a 
divinely appointed mission and living forever in the 
heavenly atmosphere of eternal love. Oh for the 
conversion of the world in the home, in the Sunday 
school and in the church! 


TESTS OF LOYE 

I Kings 3 : 25. “The king said, ‘Divide the living 
child in two, give half to the one, and half to the 
other.’ w Two women claimed the same child; the 
false mother was willing that Solomon should with 
the sword divide the living child, but the real mother, 
amid sobs and tears, cried out, ”0 my lord, give her 
the living child, and in no wise slay it.” Then the 
wise king said, “Give her the living child; she is the 
mother thereof.” Love, stronger than death, proved 
motherhood. Mother love could not be successfully 
counterfeited before the wise ruler. The pretender 
had no depth of affection for the little one. An 
adopted child in the home of the best of parents 
cannot inspire that wonderful love which fills the 





160 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


heart of parenthood and which cries, “My child, my 
life, my all!” All that a mother hath will she give 
for her child, following him to the gallows. She will 
love him more the older he grows, even until the 
head is white with age, for love is eternal. 

A little girl once cried out, “Mamma, my dollie 
never loves me back as I do.” Therefore the child 
soon outgrows the doll, but the mother never out¬ 
grows the child. The dear one may become estranged, 
refusing to respond to a mother’s affection, and then 
at last love dies under such iceberg conditions. A 
truant son once returned to his mother’s bedside, and 
when she saw how cold, heartless and pitiless his 
face appeared, scarred and hardened by sin, she 
whispered in her dying moments, “I have never 
wholly lost my boy till now, never till now!” So 
the Mother God of heaven utters sorrowful words 
when lost children refuse the invitation to come to 
the bosom of love, the Home of the Soul. Love never 
dies till the loved one smothers the flame forever. 


THE LOST CHILD 

Luke 2 : 45. “And when they found not the child 
Jesus they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking 
Him.” As Mary found her boy in the temple, joy 
filled her heart; but what greater delight she must 
have had when she heard the words, “Wist ye not 
that I must be about My Father’s business?” 

A lost child touches the heart of humanity about as 
deeply as the heart of the home. The loss of a child 
often becomes the source of greater grief than death 
itself, because of the awfulness of the suspense. A 
mother recently wrote to one of the war generals in 
Europe saying, “If I could only know whether my 
boy is dead or alive, or where he is buried, so I could 
visit his grave and weep there, I would be content. 
This oppressive suspense is killing me.” A million 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


161 


mothers and loved ones are in the same condition 
of terrible anxiety all over Europe. 

One evening, when Rev. Dr. Eddy, then editor of 
the Chicago Christian Advocate, was returning home 
from his day’s toil, his eldest son met him, saying, 
“Little Ramie is lost.” For eighteen hours the family, 
the friends and the police were searching for his 
three-year-old boy. Dr. Eddy said he never knew 
the meaning before of the word “suspense.” In the 
morning, as he went to the breakfast table, seeing 
the little fellow’s high chair at the table, the rocking 
horse and the little cap near by, he totally collapsed. 
He felt he could hardly endure the awful agony 
longer. The morning paper brought the news of a 
child found by a German, and, hearing that the man 
was now coming toward his homo, Dr. Eddy gazed 
down the street. How far one can see who is looking 
for his lost child! Yes, it was our child! What joy 
filled that home over the rescued one, more than over 
the three other children who had not gone astray! 

THE SAVIOUR AND THE MOTHER 

Isa. 66 : 13. “As one whom his mother comforteth, 
so will I comfort you.” One day Henry W. Grady 
left his editorial room and went to his old home to 
see his mother. His first words were, “Mother, I 
have lost my religion, and I have come back to you, 
where I first found God, that you might lead me to 
Him again.” She took him upon her knee and told 
him Bible stories, singing lullaby songs to him. She 
gave him his bread and milk at the table as when a 
boy; leading him upstairs to bed, she said, “Now 
pray the same prayer, ‘Now I lay me down to 
sleep.’ ” 

In the morning the son said, “It’s all right, mother. 
I’ve found Him again where I found Him in my 
childhood.” And with great joy he went away to 
his office work. 




162 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


Are you a wanderer from your mother’s Christ? 
Return to her and to Him; go back to the starting 
place. Do you say, “She is gone to her heavenly 
home”? Then, in imagination, nestle again in her 
arms, weep at her knees, pray the little prayers of 
your childhood. Listen and you may hear the rustle 
of her angel wings still hovering over you, minister¬ 
ing as of old to your troubled spirits. See, she points 
you upward to the gates of the lost Paradise now 
open again to receive you; to the Christ, longing to 
cleanse you. 

How happy you are when the abyss of sin separat¬ 
ing you from mother and the Saviour is closed again, 
with you enwrapped in mother’s affections and the 
arms divine! There is room in her mansion for you. 


FIRST THE FATHER 

Eph. 3 : 15. “Of whom the whole family in earth 
and heaven is named.” God was Father before He 
was Creator. He loved before He gave. Love is His 
being, flowing forth as a river of life through the 
universe. The divine attributes are branches of this 
river, called the holiness of love, the omnipotence of 
love, the merciful goodness of love. This parental 
love of the Father is manifested toward His whole 
family in heaven and earth, as it is toward His 
only begotten Son. This was stated in Jesus’ last 
prayer, “that the love wherewith Thou hast loved 
Me may be in them and I in them.” “Love and I,” 
two infinite Lovers of their human children. The 
Father could not love His irresponsive worlds; only 
admiration for these filled His mind. He called His 
creations “very good,” because they were for His 
needy loved ones. 

The products of God’s power, wisdom and skill 
from the hands of the Architect and Builder of 
worlds were all for the convenience and happiness 





163 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


of the objects of His affection. He waited long ages 
for the completion of these edifices as homes for His 
household. Who could doubt the Father’s forgive¬ 
ness toward His wayward ones when He has built 
so many mansions for us and sent His only Son to 
win us back to His arms? What rapture of love 
when we sob our repentance upon His bosom! He 
seeks after us more than we seek after Him. Blessed 
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, how we 
should love Thee in return for all Thy wealth of 
love and riches of worlds given unto us! Then we 
must remember that Thou wilt make us shine as the 
sun when we reach home, wilt robe us in the vest¬ 
ments of light, making us one with thine angelic 
family. Do we feel the drawing power of the lode- 
stone of divine love, and do we yield to its sweet, 
sacred burnings in our hearts? 


THE HIGH MISSION OF THE MOTHER 

Solomon’s Song 3 : 11. “Behold King Solomon 
with his crown wherewith his mother crowned him.” 
No wonder the noblest men have uttered the sweet¬ 
est words of tongue or pen about her who is dearest 
of all loved ones. Even they could express but little 
of the beautiful devotion of motherhood. For from 
her did we not learn our childlike faith in God? 
Did she not teach us to be good and do good, dedi¬ 
cating us from infancy to the service and love of 
the heavenly Father? Thinking about the angel- 
mother is almost enough to transfigure the soul 
into the likeness she bore of her blessed Master. 

A friend asked a rich Roman matron to see her 
most precious jewels; she immediately gathered her 
children around her and said, “These are my jewels.” 
Every mother knows that these may be stars in her 
crown of rejoicing forever. Her children have a 





164 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


beginning in parenthood, but no ending in God’s 
endless years. 

It is thus parents can help adorn their children 
with the beautiful crown of character, and these 
redeemed ones become their own crown in the 
presence of the Lord at His coming. Faithfulness 
in the family brings its own reward in pearls of 
purity, gems of peace and diamonds of gracefulness 
that will never cease to shine. 


PARTIALITY OF PARENTS 

Gen. 24 : 4. “But thou shalt go into my country, 
.... and take a wife unto my son Isaac.” Abra¬ 
ham feared that his son might marry a Canaanitish 
woman. He therefore sent Eliezer to his kindred, 
who returned with the beautiful Rebekah, whom 
Isaac married. Thirty years after, twins were born 
to them, Esau and Jacob. Esau, the elder, was heir 
to his father’s wealth and position. But Esau, be¬ 
cause of his hunger one day, after a hunting-trip, 
sold his birthright to Jacob for a mess of pottage. 
Esau was Isaac’s favorite son, partly because of his 
hunting proclivities. He was therefore determined 
to pronounce his final blessing upon him. Rebekah, 
loving Jacob the better of the two, managed to de¬ 
ceive her aged and blind husband, so that he put 
his hands upon Jacob, ratifying his birthright as 
head of the household. Esau, on his return, was 30 
angry over the loss of his father's blessing that 
he left his home forever. 

Aside from this act of favoritism and fraud, Re¬ 
bekah is considered one of the most faithful wives 
and truest women of the Bible. Her name is com¬ 
memorated in every civilized country of the world 
m words more lasting than those chiseled on mar¬ 
ble. In the Book of Common Prayer we read that 
as Isaac and Rebekah lived faithfully together, so 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 165 


these persons may surely perform and keep the vows 
and covenant betwixt them made.” 

The moral is that parents should not indulge in 
great partiality for any of their children if they wish 
harmony to prevail in the family life. Jacob became 
a wanderer from home as well as Esau, living in 
fear of his brother for many years, thus leaving his 
mother, who had tried to do so much for him. 

If Rebekah had trusted God to fulfil His prophecy 
concerning Jacob, that the elder should serve the 
younger, how much happier her life would have 
been! We should never do wrong in order to help 
God bring His purposes to pass. 


FAITH OR FAMILY? 

Matt. 10 : 36...“A man’s foes shall be they of his 
own household.” As much as the Bible exalts the 
home, the family and the relationship between kin¬ 
dred, yet truth and righteousness live in a higher 
realm. The soul of man must stand alone before 
God in the final judgment. He must therefore be 
willing to sever all human ties if necessary to his 
salvation. Paul and the early martyrs forsook 
home and friends, suffered the loss of all things to 
win Christ. It is a blessed fact that though human 
hands may murder the body, they cannot touch the 
soul. The loss of a soul is the catastrophe of the 
universe. 

If we deny our Lord for the sake of harmony 
among our kindred, He will deny us before the 
Father and the holy angels. In separating the right¬ 
eous from the wicked, it is sometimes necessary to 
endure conflict between those of your own house¬ 
hold. When right and wrong meet, they occasion 
strife. A child may feel compelled to defend him¬ 
self and his family against a drunken, maniac father, 
or to defend his soul against an infidel parent. Holi- 





166 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


ness and sin are ever antagonistic principles, so 
that sometimes the sword of justice will cut through 
households. 


THE RIGHT PATH AND THE WRONG 

Gal. 6 : 7. “Whatsover a man soweth, that shall 
he also reap.” A little boy once said to his father, 
“Do two and two always make four?” The father 
replied, “Yes, Jack, they always make exactly four; 
don’t forget it, my boy. for that is one of the most 
majestic and awful facts of the universe.” Moral 
laws, like natural laws, are facts, irrevocable and 
unrepealable. John Jacob Astor once wanted one of 
his young men to help load a ship on Sunday. The 
boy replied, expecting to lose his position, “I can¬ 
not break the law of the Lord’s Day.” That young 
man afterward became a partner in the firm. 

How different the one who listened to the tempter, 
who said, “What’s the harm? No one will ever know 
it; you can pay it back. Take the money.” That 
young man found a felon’s cell. 

Yes, vice is always vicious; virtue always en¬ 
nobling. Drinking means drunkenness; dishonesty, 
desolation. It was said of a rich man’s son, “He 
has everything but moral principle. The legacy did 
not leave him that.” 

Men well know the path they are walking in. 
They know if they sow to the flesh, they will reap 
corruption. If the care of the body takes precedence 
of that of the soul, both will be wrecked. Environ¬ 
ment, culture, education and social reforms are the 
popular words of today. Men are not saying, “Is it 
right or wrong?” but “Is it sterilized?” 








Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


1 67 


LOYE 

I. COR. 13 : 13. “The greatest of these is love.” 
Love is the cure-all for the ills of life. It heals 
hurts of wounded pride, it cures the malady of a 
terrible temper. Love is not easily provoked; it 
holds the soul in a serene composure, suffering long. 
Christ’s love suffered on the cross for mankind. Love 
gives itself to rescue the loved. Love helps carry 
the burdens of the beloved. Love is kind to the poor, 
the sick and the needy; it oils the creaking door and 
irritating joints of the soul. “Love envieth not.” It 
wants others to be happy, even to have better things 
than the lover has. Envy is called the filthy slime 
of the soul, the daughter of pride, the tormentor of 
virtue, the instigator of revenge, murder and war. 

Perfect love will banish envy from the soul for¬ 
ever. “Love vaunteth not itself.” It does not, every 
time it lays the golden egg, rise from the nest and 
cackle. Love is humble, unobtrusive, preferring the 
elevation of others to itself. 

“Love seeketh not her own.” It means “others 
first.” The music of the soul is in loving. Her hap¬ 
piness is in making others happy. Even self-denial 
is joy when others are benefited. It was said truly 
of our Lord, “Himself he could not save.” He must 
save others first. “Women and children first” was 
the watchword of the Titanic. “Others first” is the 
Christian’s motto everywhere. Love does not be¬ 
come excited by spiteful words nor irritated by the 
little insects of a biting, stinging tongue. Think of 
the patience of love; she beareth all things without 
a murmur, endureth all things without complaint, 
believeth all things good of another, thinketh no evil, 
harbors no gossiping stories, but rejoices in the true, 
the beautiful and the good. Love is a composite pic¬ 
ture of all the graces. May all the world of man¬ 
kind become enamored of her beauty! 





168 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


THE ANGELIC MINISTERS OF CHILDHOOD 

Matthew 18 : 10. “In heaven their angels do al¬ 
ways behold the face of My Father which is in 
heaven.” The ministering angels of the children are 
in the front ranks. They stand nearest the throne. 
They are the favorites of the infinite company. We 
therefore should not forbid the children, but gladly 
open the way for them to come early to Christ. 
“For except ye become as little children, ye can in 
no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Chil¬ 
dren are the favorites in faith, truthfulness, willing¬ 
ness, hope and love. Let them into the kingdom. 
Their angels convey their prayers as they say, “Now 
I lay me down to sleep,” and minister to their 
needs as they awake in the morning. Wings, wings 
of angels, fly for their succor and relief, bearing 
them gently through life, or upward to their own 
blessed company. How beautiful in our heavenly 
Father to send His protecting angels, who shall 
keep thee in all thy ways, bear thee up in their 
hands, and at last convey thee to thy native skies! 

The heavenly worlds are brought near by the 
angels, who are ministering messengers of love, es¬ 
pecially to the children. Let no one hurt or slight 
these little ones. If he do, better for him that a 
millstone were hanged about his neck, and he 
drowned in the depths of the sea. 


GIVING UP TREASURES 

Gen. 22 : 12. “Now I know that thou fearest God* 
seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, 
from Me.” A multitude of homes have been giving 
up their dearest treasures since the European war 
began. Not only among the soldiers in the battle 
front, but among the children banished from ruined 
homes, little wanderers in hunger, desolation and 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 169 


anguish, falling by the roadside or lost in the wilder¬ 
ness. Mothers and fathers have been giving their 
children back to Christ from their arms of love and 
can say to a sorrowing world, “I, too, am alone, 
without my loved ones, but, in my desolation, God is 
blessing me with multiplied service and showing me 
that ‘Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.’ ” 

All classes of society are surrendering their dear 
ones to the call of the nation. A physician once ex¬ 
claimed, in bitter sorrow, “I cannot cure my boy.” 
So a millionaire might cry, “My gold is unable to 
save my son from facing the deadly enginery of 
war.” A wife cannot keep her husband nor a sister 
her brother. How many soon will be like Rachel, 
weeping for her children, depending upon the com¬ 
fort of the everlasting arms. The children are still 
yours, though surrendered; if not given back soon, 
like Isaac, they will greet you in the home of the 
soul, where all are safe with God. You may, 
therefore, exclaim, “The Lord gave and the Lord 
hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” 

Jesus wept, and so may you; He knows when the 
weeping time will be over, when we shall see that all 
the dark things have worked together for our good. 
So we may now say, “Though He slay me, yet will I 
trust in Him.” Let us remember that Jesus has room 
for the parents, as well as the lambs, in His infinite 
bosom. 


LEADING BY HEARTSTRINGS 

Isa. 11 : 6. “A little child shall lead them” A 
little fellow dying said to the dear ones, “I am going 
to be an angel, and pa and ma can come too.” How 
true that heaven will not be complete until we are 
with them there! The children in this world have a 
great drawing power in leading us to Christ. In 
one of Billy Sunday’s meetings in Boston, a bright¬ 
faced little girl said to a leading business man as he 





170 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


was going into the meeting, “Mr. Saunders, wouldn’t 
you like to be a Christian?” This hardened sinner, 
who had refused to let his wife come home for 
twenty years because he had told her she could not 
come unless she would tie religion outside; this 
man, whom preachers could not reach, had his heart 
broken by a child. That night he sat by the altar 
of prayer and nearly cried his eyes out, with tears of 
repentance and consecration. 

It is said that one day when Francis Murphy was 
in his prison cell, a friend took one of his children 
to visit him. As the little one learned over with 
tears dropping on his breast, she said, “Papa, we 
are homesick at our house without you.” These ten¬ 
der words changed the convict’s whole after life. 
When he had reformed, he said, “Man is lost beyond 
the possibility of redemption if the divinity of his 
nature does not listen when a child speaks the word 
‘home’ in his ear.” 


GODLINESS AND AFFLICTIONS 

Amos. 3 : 2. “You only have I known of all the 
families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for 
all your iniquities.*’ “Whom the Lord loveth, He 
chasteneth.” He loved Israel; therefore great sor¬ 
rows came upon the nation. Our Father knows that 
immortal joys will make up for all the momentary 
light afflictions we endure here. If we were to die 
as the beast dieth, He would not afflict us. He purg- 
eth us for immortality. 

History moves upward with bloody feet. Most of 
the Bible books were written by the pen of pain. 
Psalms were sung from the depths of sorrow; the 
Epistles came out of prison; Revelation out of Pat- 
mos. The characters of Job, Joseph, Moses and Ab¬ 
raham were molded, ornamented and burned into 
permanency by afflictive providences. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


171 


A kind father puts the child on the surgeon’s 
table and gives the bitter medicines to save its life. 
The true child will trust where it cannot trace, and 
bless the hand of love that administers peace through 
pain. “God is love” whichever way the wind blows. 
Earthly parents often ruin their children by be¬ 
queathing great wealth, while the heavenly Father 
saves His children by letting riches take wings and 
fly away. 


THE FAMILY OF GOD 

Eph. 3 : 15. “Of whom the whole family in earth 
and heaven is named.” Our Divine Father built the 
earth and heavens as a sanctuary for His children. 
When the earthly home was finished, He called it 
“very good.” It must have been an hour of supreme 
interest when man became a living soul and the 
house of Eden had an inhabitant. The Father God 
could not bestow His affection upon planets, forces, 
laws or worlds, for they could not reciprocate His 
love. He longed for beings in His own image and 
likeness, who could know and love Him as He loved 
them and be companions in His household forever. 
We are aware that this planet is only a temporary 
residence, a vestibule to the permanent palace in 
the heavens. 

The whole family of God is in two great divisions, 
but dwelling in one great mansion home. Some are 
in the lower story; others in the higher outlook, but 
all have the family resemblance and joy, being born 
not of the flesh or the will of man, but of God. He 
sends the spirit of His Son into our hearts so we may 
delight to cry, ‘Abba, Father,” and to say when we 
pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven.” 

There are many figures used in speaking of the 
Church of the living God. It is called a building fitly 
framed together, a tree spreading its branches over 
the earth, a vine laden with fruit, a body with many 





172 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


members, a bride with the bridegroom; but the idea 
of a family is the nearest and dearest of all other 
comparisons. He is the Mother God and the Father 
God; we are His offspring, and though sin once 
estranged us, like the prodigal we have come home 
to the Father’s house, feeling the embrace of His 
fellowship. Jesus has washed us in His own most 
precious blood so the Father could kiss our tears 
away and whisper the pardon of our sins. After be¬ 
ing tenants here, we will become residents yonder, 
where angels will join the family and sing with us, 
“Unto Him be glory and honor and power forever 
and ever.” 


SONS OF GOD 

I John 3 : 1. ‘‘Behold what manner of love the 
Father hath bestowed on ns, that we should be called 
the sons of God.” By the new birth of the Spirit, we 
are made sons of God. Being sons, we are heirs to 
the inheritance that fadeth not away. Our Lord 
made this relationship possible by His death and 
resurrection, and the Holy Spirit makes us meet for 
the inheritance of the saints in light by making us 
partakers of the divine nature. 

By creation we are God’s offspring; by grace we 
are His children; a spiritual inheritance requires a 
spiritual condition to receive and enjoy it. Belong¬ 
ing to the brotherhood of man does not mean that 
we are God’s spiritual children unless we have ac¬ 
cepted the redemption provided. Heaven is a soul 
state of blessedness reimparted by the Divine One. 
This is fatherhood and sonship. We are made joint 
heirs with Christ to all He is and has. “My peace I 
give unto you.” “My joy will remain in you, that 
your joy may be full.” This is the divine legacy 
from the Christ, the unspeakable gift to the sons and 
daughters of the Lord Almighty. We have Him in 
the beginning here and in the never-ending there. 
We are heirs to all His infinite wealth of love, wis- 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


173 


dom and power. “In this the children of God are 
manifested and the children of the devil.” They are 
as far apart as good and evil, sin and holiness. When 
God breathed into man the breath of life, we re¬ 
ceived the divine image, but having blurred or ef¬ 
faced it by sin, we are no more in harmony with the 
Father’s family. By wicked works we have shown 
ourselves enemies of his kingdom, and only Jesus’ 
blood can make us white for the inheritance. 


DIVINE COMPANIONSHIP 

Mark Guy Pearse once said: “When I was a little 
lad of seven, I had gone to spend a day with some 
friends, three miles from my home. After a happy 
time in the hayfield, when the day was done, I start¬ 
ed for home. A muttering thunderstorm was com¬ 
ing up in the distance. I was afraid as I stood 
against the old farmhouse door; I began to think I 
did not know the way home for three long miles. 
All the pictures I had ever looked at came before 
me. There was Giant Pope in the Pilgrim’s Prog¬ 
ress, with eyes flashing lightning, waiting for me to 
come round the corner. There was Apollyon, ready 
to spring upon me. All the robbers and ghosts I 
had ever heard of lay along those three miles. How 
my heart sank within me! My knuckles could 
scarcely keep back the tears. Just then, O joy! up a 
leafy lane, there came my father! I heard him call, 
‘Come on, my boy!’ In a moment I was changed into 
a hero. I almost wished old Apollyon would peep 
around the corner and find me more than a match. 
Oh, how I grasped that hand of my father! How I 
looked up into that face and felt his pleasant pres¬ 
ence! I leaped and crowed and shouted. When the 
rain and lightning came, oh, how good to have the 
folds of a long blue coat around me and a hand 
holding my hand! What cared I about all the terrors 
that ever were? he was there.” 




174 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


Do we know the voice of the Lord Jesus when he 
says to us, “Come, my child”? Afflictions will seem 
light then; night will give way to morning, defeat 
to victory. Christ, the only begotten Son of the 
Father, will lead us all the way safely. 

How blessed it is to know that Christ is our con¬ 
stant Companion, guarding, guiding, and keeping us 
forever from all harm! 


JESUS Itf THE HOME 

John 12 : 1, 2. “Then Jesus came to Bethany, 
where Lazarus was, and they made Him a supper.” 
Bethany was one of the temporary homes of Our 
Lord. He really had nowhere of His own to lay His 
head. At Bethany He was welcome. Lazarus adored 
Him. The sisters delighted to minister unto His 
weariness, hunger, and social needs. What pleas¬ 
ing conversations must have been enjoyed around 
the frugal board and family fireside! What rest to 
the toiling Traveler who had given His sympathy 
and blessing to the multitudes on that day! In this 
home Jesus was the Son of Man among congenial 
spirits, finding companionship instead of loneliness, 
appreciation instead of abuse, kindness rather than 
the malignant hatred of many whom he came to 
save. 

The worshipful adoration of Mary, the sweet hos¬ 
pitality of the hard-worked Martha, together with 
the fellowship of Lazarus, made that home a heaven 
on earth. Martha was a little reproved for chiding 
Mary, because the life is more than meat and the 
body than raiment; but, after all, how useful and 
needful is the work of caring for the body, the cita¬ 
del of the soul! Mary, knowing that Jesus would not 
long be with them, sought to feed the soul first, the 
better part that could not be taken from her. 

This was Our Lord’s last week before the cruci¬ 
fixion. Tho Mary did not realize this, while Martha 




Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


175 


was serving and Lazarus conversing,, she anointed 
Jesus with the costly ointment for His burial. What 
a beautiful inscription Jesus wrote on her monu¬ 
mental character! “She hath done what she could.” 
Every home may be beautiful with Christ in the 
midst. 

THE AUTUMN OF LIFE 

Ps. 71 : 9. “Cast me not off in the time of old age.” 
An aged father, who had struck an oil well on his 
poor little farm in Texas decided to test the devotion 
of his daughter and son-in-law. One day he came 
to them clothed in the rags he used to wear and said, 
“Your old father wants you to care for him the rest 
of his life. He cannot work any longer.” The daugh¬ 
ter replied, “We have but little in our home, but we 
will divide with you, dear father.” Then the old man 
proudly exclaimed, “My dear children, you shall 
henceforth reside in a mansion in Pittsburgh which 
I have bought for you; you shall ride in an auto¬ 
mobile and enjoy the luxuries of wealth.” 

It is natural for loving, devoted children to be 
kind to aged parents, but estrangements have often 
occurred when the old and feeble have been pushed 
aside, crowded out, made to feel that they are not 
wanted. 

Every drop of blood in a parent’s heart throbs with 
affection for the child. They are willing to suffer for 
the training and happiness of those dearer to them 
than life. How cruel, therefore, when the child for¬ 
gets the love and care manifested through all its 
early days! 

Balzac, in his “PSre Goriot,” puts these words in 
the father’s mouth as he is passing away: “Not until 
you are dying do you know your children. I gave 
them life, they are giving me the deathblow. If I 
had not given them all my wealth, they would be 
with me now at my bedside. My children are tor¬ 
turing me for the sin of affection.” 




176 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


What a contrast to this is witnessed in many 
homes! When the aged repose in the family of their 
dear ones, ever realizing that they are loved and 
wanted, their last days become their best days. Then 
they can say, “Age is sweeter than youth, as the 
harvest time is more golden than seed time, the 
ending brighter than the beginning.” 


THE MOTHER LOVE 

Isa. 49 : 15. “Can a woman forget her child? . . . 
Yet will I not forget thee.” The best of human be¬ 
ings fail to be true at times, but mother love is more 
constant than any other human, earthly affection. 
There is never a prison where she would not knock 
for the liberation of her child; her love does not 
change because of misfortune or unfaithfulness. 

A degenerate mother in the toils of Satan’s power 
might forget, but there is One who remembers al¬ 
ways to love the objects of His affection. He will 
never leave and never forget. “As one whom His 
mother comforteth, so will I comfort you.” A 
mother would give her drunken son the last crust 
of bread in the house; if expostulated with, she 
would say, “How can I help it? I am his mother. I 
would give him all and then die for him, for I was 
willing to give my life for him at his birth.” Though 
all other friends forsake her child, though the law 
may seize him and the gallows slay him, her pitying 
affection will never give him up, and on his grave 
she will refuse to be comforted, because he is not. 

“If I were drowned in the deepest sea, 

Mother o’ mine, mother o’ mine, 

I know whose prayers would come down to me, 
Mother o’ mine, mother o’ mine.” 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


1 77 


THE TYRANNY OF SIN 

John 8 : 34. “Yerily I say unto you, whosoever 
committeth sin is the slave of sin. ,, Christ, the 
Truth, can make the world free from sin, hut if we 
believe not him as the divine Saviour, we shall die 
in our sins. A physician said to a young man, “If 
you do not cut out your sins, you will be blind in six 
months.” He replied, “Good-by, sweet world of light; 
I cannot give up my sins.” Lust was his master, he 
was the slave. Appetite clutched his throat like a 
demon. He was the bondsman in prison; passions 
were his jailers. 

Only one Liberator can save the soul from the 
tyranny of sin. His name is called Jesus, for He 
shall save His people from their sins. He saves the 
Magdalenes, the moral lepers, the thieves, default¬ 
ers, robbers, the persecutors, liars, and idolators, the 
drunkards and murderers. He saves unto the utter¬ 
most all that come unto God by Him. 

Only two courses are open to the human traveler— 
salvation or slavery. Which shall it be? Ages of 
peace or moments of pleasure; harvests of fruit¬ 
age or nothing but leaves? Shall we follow Christ to 
freedom, or surrender to the slavery of Satan? This 
is the great question of human destiny. It may be 
this night thy soul will be required of thee—shall 
we still yield to the embrace of monster passion, or 
seek the friendship of the mighty Deliverer? Hear 
Him speak to you: “He whom the Son makes free is 
free indeed. Without Me ye can do nothing.” If 
you will seek first the Kingdom of God and His 
righteousness, all other things essential to true hap¬ 
piness will be added unto you. 


CONSECRATE YOUR CHILDREN TO CHRIST 

Matt. 18 : 5. “And whoso shall receive one such 
little child in My name receiveth Me.” Christ esti- 





178 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


mated children by what they might become in this 
world and in the celestial realms. He knew that 
each little babe might unfold immortal powers for 
its blessedness and His glory. 

Every cradle is a prophecy of a mysterious and 
wonderful future. Each little traveler is knocking at 
the door of opportunity and is in the arms of Christ, 
as well as in its mother’s, receiving His kiss of 
blessing, His words of welcome in the great family 
of the heavenly Father. 

The child in faith, trust, simplicity and love is like 
those of the kingdom of heaven. Doubt, treachery, 
fear and jealousy have not yet soiled the whiteness 
of the child heart. Wicked parents have often been 
kept from crime because they hesitated to taint the 
names of their children, and many a father and 
mother have been led by little hands into the king¬ 
dom of righteousness, “for a little child shall lead 
them.” As a mother loves, so Jesus loves; as a 
father pities, so the Lord pitieth His children. 

If all Christian parents would consecrate their 
children to Christ as Hannah did Samuel and 
Monica did Augustine, millions of young people 
would be saved from evil ways. A child can love 
the Saviour almost as soon as it loves its mother. 
A great divine once said that if he could have a child 
till it was six years old, no one could ever win it 
away. If the church would win the world, it must 
win the children first. How sad that many hold the 
children off till they wander away, thinking that the 
lambs are too young to be housed in the fold of the 
Good Shepherd! 

“I WILL NOT FORGET THEE ” 

Isa. 49 : 15. “I will not forget thee.” A mother 
may forget her child, a father may forsake his son, 
but the Father in heaven will never, no never, forget 
His children. A young man in New York City was 




Meditations for the Quiet Hour 179 


arrested for some trivial offence and sent to Black¬ 
well’s Island. He wrote a plea to his father to come 
to his rescue, but the father’s pride and anger would 
not permit him to go to his boy. He said he had 
made his bed; let him sleep in it. The grieved and 
forsaken boy, trying to escape by swimming across 
the river, was drowned. The father soon was on the 
verge of insanity, crying, “I would give the world if 
I had gone to my poor boy.” 

Our Father God will never miss such an opportu¬ 
nity to save or help a praying child. He gave His 
heavenly Son Jesus to save His earthly children. 
He came without our sending for Him; we killed 
Him, and when He came to life again, loving us, He 
reached out His everlasting arms to rescue those 
who had put Him to death. 

Can such love ever forget, ever forsake? It would 
break our Father’s heart if He ever forgot one of us. 
Yes, a human father may turn his back upon his 
child, shut the door against him. He may have been 
an unworthy son, but then, he was his own boy. 
Does not the human heart recoil against such a 
parental attitude? We do not think it strange when 
a mother receives back her truant daughter; it is 
like an act of the Almighty, and we all say “Amen.” 
How much more will your heavenly Father give good 
gifts to His returning prodigal? He bears with our 
infirmities, forgives our sins, touches our sickness 
into health, brings us to His bosom, puts on the robe 
and ring, spreads His table, and makes all heaven 
resound with rejoicing. The son was dead; he is 
alive again. He was lost and is found. All the bells 
of heaven ring and all the angels sing. A child has 
returned from the wild to its home in the Father’s 
house forever. 





180 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


THE HOMELESSNESS OF JESUS 

John 8 : 1. “Jesus went nnto the Mount of Olives.” 
He who was born in a manger because there was no 
room in the inn, who fled into Egypt because His 
own nation sought His life, who passed His boy¬ 
hood in despised Nazareth, began the work of His 
life without a home, a city or a country that desired 
Him; He who found an occasional resting place 
among friends in Capernaum, Bethany, and Jerusa¬ 
lem, once said, “The foxes have holes, the birds of 
the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not 
where to lay His head.” He who was rich became 
poor that we, through His poverty, might become 
rich.” 

Bread and fish was His diet; He slept in boats, in 
deserts, on hillsides. His disciples and the people 
who followed Him were poor. The world’s Christ 
was rocked in a borrowed cradle, buried in a bor¬ 
rowed grave. The robe He wore, the only memento 
He could have left His mother, was raffled for by His 
crucifiers. He gave His body, His life, His blood, 
Himself, for the salvation of mankind. Christ was 
rich in creative and redemptive power, in love, mer¬ 
cy and compassion, and we are the heirs to the in¬ 
finite legacy of His wealth. Though Jesus lived like 
a beggar, he was a king in disguise, on a visit to 
save a race. Now He is the Chief, the One alto¬ 
gether lovely among the inhabitants of immortality, 
as well as the Judge upon the throne of the uni¬ 
verse. 


LEAVING THE OLD HOME FOE THE NEW 

John 14 : 2. “I go to prepare a place for you.” 
Jesus here gives us a look into eternity through the 
gates ajar. A full vision would have made the dis¬ 
ciples unfit for this lowly life. They saw for a mo¬ 
ment the heavenly hills on the sides of the moun- 




Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


181 


tains of immortality. How blessed to know that 
when the earthly house fails you have a building im¬ 
perishable, designed and completed by the Archi¬ 
tect of the universe for His bride. No artist, giving 
beautiful reflections from nature, can thrill the soul 
like Him who paints heaven for His children. 

Time’s winged chariot is hurrying on. Life’s 
journey will soon be ended. The old home will be 
left behind. The old business life will be no more. 
Your employment will be in the presence of the 
King. Old opportunities will be past, but more 
golden ones are coming. Old friends are gone where 
you are going, waiting to greet you. The ascended 
Christ says, “I will receive you unto myself, that 
where I am, there ye may be also.” Do you believe 
Him, trust Him, love Him? Then His home will be 
yours; you will be joint heirs with Him to the in¬ 
heritance of a universe of worlds, of His infinite 
spiritual blessings. You will have the right of way 
to His heart and being forever. 


THE LOVE THAT ENDURES 

Phil. 1 : 7. “I have you in my heart” What a 
beautiful dwelling-place is a heart full of love! It is 
the holy of holies of friendship, fellowship, and the 
rapturous tenderness and oneness of two souls. 
Loved ones gone away are enshrined in our hearts, 
and in the inner room are written the words, “Sacred 

to the memory of -Here we hold communion 

during the long period of separation. Paul thus 
wrote to his Philippian followers, having heard from 
them through Epaphroditus, who had come to visit 
him in the Roman prison. Love for one another, in¬ 
spired by the love of Christ, is the holiest union of 
souls in God’s family. True love never forgets, never 
forsakes, never surrenders the lover to enemies, 
whether it be the love of a patriot for his country, of 
a husband for his wife, of a child for a parent, of a 





182 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


minister for his flock, of a Saviour for His redeemed 
children. Loving remembrance often breaks out in 
holy song of thanksgiving to God because of hearts 
wedded together by His spirit. Love bears a world 
up to the throne of grace on the wings of prayer, 
that their love may abound more and more unto the 
coming of Jesus Christ. Love has telephonic powers, 
flashing messages and voices from soul to soul in an 
instant of time. Love means purity, sincerity, holi¬ 
ness and happiness forever. 

What fruits of love grow on the Tree of Life in the 
human heart! Faith and hope blossom here. No won¬ 
der we love to hide in hearts; it is a pavilion of 
splendor, a secret place, under the shadow of wings. 
Hearts that can say, “I have the Saviour in my soul,” 
are a refuge for the friendship of others. 


THE HOME 

Ps. 68 : 6. “He setteth the solitary in families.” 
Home is the head of the river of national life. First 
the individual; then the family, the tribe and the na¬ 
tion. The state is but an aggregation of families; 
therefore the purity of the church and of the state 
depends upon the purity of the home. Taking care 
of the children is blessing all future generations and 
fitting the little immortals for God’s eternal kingdom. 
It is work like that of the infinite Creator, higher 
than the mission of angels. What a responsibility, 
then, rests upon parentage, educating, training, guid¬ 
ing the little beings destined to everlasting develop¬ 
ment, usefulness and happiness! You are the mon- 
archs of home life; your stewardship is God-given; 
as patriarchs of the home you have the child before 
the Sunday school, the church, or the pastor. Surely 
those who rock the cradle rule the world. 

The greatest sinners of history have come from 
ungodly homes, and the greatest Christian heroes 
from homes like that of President and Mrs. Hayes at 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 183 


the White House, where prayer and praise ascended 
daily to the King of kings, and where no intoxicating 
liquors, no social glass disgraced the table. 

When a certain hardened sinner yielded to Christ, 
he said it was the memory of his mother’s hand on 
his brow, when she was dying, forty years before, 
that finally brought him to his knees. Her last 
words were, “Son, remember your mother’s teach¬ 
ings and love your mother's God.” He had felt the 
touch of that hand all the years of his wordliness, till 
it brought him to her Lord. 





OTeMtattona Hpmt Heloig 
* 

DELIGHTS OF GOOD HUMOR 

Ps. 126 : 2. “Then was our month filled with 
laughter, and onr lips with singing.” Is not humor 
one of the gifts of God to man, one of the distinguish¬ 
ing marks between man and the animal? Humor is 
associated with pathos, tenderness and affection. A 
person devoid of humor is less sought for by chil¬ 
dren and young people, and less welcomed in home 
and society. Humor gives brightness to the face, 
sunshine to the eyes, relieves the high tension of an 
argument or oration, and illuminates thought with 
its brightness. 

Henry Ward Beecher and Abraham Lincoln were 
vastly superior because of their delightful humor; 
their power to take off the absurdities of a theory, or 
to make ludicrous the mistakes and evils of life, lay 
in their heart humor, as fragrance in the flower. 

Happy is the man whose mouth is filled with inno¬ 
cent laughter, and his lips with praise. The children 
run to meet him; his presence is a delight in a sick¬ 
room, for his countenance is like the smiles of na¬ 
ture. Mr. Lincoln disarmed his enemies and de¬ 
lighted his friends by his charming pleasantry; he 
sent men away from his presence almost as pleased 
as if he had granted their requests. 

During the awful burdens of the war, he would 
exclaim, “If it were not for an occasional joke, I 
should die.” Often at midnight he would be found 
sitting on the edge of John Hay’s bed, reading to him 
an amusing story. It was the same gentle spirit that 


184 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


185 


led him to play with the children on the lawn of the 
White House. 

There is no incongruity between laughter and the 
solemn hours of sorrow, or the higher delights of 
spiritual pleasure. This oil of gladness makes 
smoother all the pathways of life. Pain and pleasure 
often flow together; they are twin influences that aid 
each other amid all changing scenes. May we not 
consider cheer a life-preserver upon the sea of time? 


THE MUSIC OF THE SOUL 

Ps. 43 : 4. “Upon the harp will I praise Thee, 0 
God, my God.” The heart itself is a harp of many 
strings, responding to all hymns of praise, all instru¬ 
ments of music. If one cannot sing, he can make 
melody in his heart unto the Lord. Soul music is 
the most acceptable unto heaven. After all, artistic 
melody is merely mechanical unless the harp of the 
heart joins in. 

When Christ comes into the heart, it seems as if a 
thousand angels were playing on the harp of your 
soul, making every chord vibrate with joy. Holy 
song is heavenly melody to the responsive soul, just 
as nature is beautiful to those who can understand 
her symmetry of form and beauty of color. 

What a multitude of choral records are stowed 
away in the human heart; what anthems of praise, 
what dirges of sorrow, what paeans of victory! When 
Jesus’ hands touch the heartstrings, he wakens all 
the depths of melody. Sin is discord; holiness is 
concord. The love of the Master Musician brings up 
the harp of the soul to concert pitch so it can join 
the glorified choir around the throne of God. 

Regeneration puts a new song into the mouth of 
the soul; “unto Him that hath washed us in His 
own precious blood.” It is the song of the Lamb of 
Calvary, the crowned Lord of all. This song on 
earth has shaken down prison walls, leveled the 






186 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


Jericho walls of iniquity, making evil tremble with 
its vibrating power. 

When the winds of adversity blow upon the 
Aeolian harp of the soul, sacred minor melody thrills 
the being with sweetest strains of holy comfort. 
Are we in tune like David’s harp of solemn sound? 
Then are we ready to make the melody of praise 
unto the Lord our God. 

“Hearts once thrilled with thoughts of heaven, 
Hearts to generous actions dear, 

Hearts redeemed, and sins forgiven, 

Hearts where love has cast out fear; 

Hearts that would be ever raising 
Loving thoughts for love untold, 

Hearts on Jesus ever gazing, 

Such as these are hearts of gold.” 


THE HEART’S TRIBUTE OF PRAISE 

Psalm 146 : 1. “Praise ye the Lord.” The last five 
Psalms may be called the “Hallelujah” Psalms, as 
each one begins with the word “Hallelujah,” which 
means “Praise ye the Lord,” and each Psalm ends 
with the same word. The word in the New Testa¬ 
ment is found in only one chapter of the Book of 
Revelation and is translated from the Greek; “Al¬ 
leluia.” The music of heaven therefore must be in 
the same strain as that of the church of God on 
earth—“Praise ye the Lord.” Hallelujah is the 
melody of God’s wide universe, the song of all choirs 
in all His realm. 

Two of the followers of Jesus once met in a 
foreign land. Not being able to understand each 
other’s language, one said “Amen” and the other 
“Hallelujah,” words that are the same in all lan¬ 
guages. They then were able to hold sweet fellow¬ 
ship together. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


187 


These last five Psalms are called the Delectable 
Mountains near the end of life’s journey, from 
whose song-summits we get glimpses of the heights 
around the New Jerusalem. David had scaled these 
pinnacles in the mountain range of song by his rap¬ 
turous flights of passion for praise. He strikes all 
the chords in the harp of the soul in these climaxes 
of adoring thanskgiving. He is exultant, ecstatic, 
almost angelic in his wonderful worship. David 
became the chorister of God for all the ages of man¬ 
kind. All the musical flow of the river of his psalm¬ 
ody ends in the glorious Niagara of praise called 
“Hallelujah — Praise ye the Lord.” The mighty 
volume of incense rising from the magnificent over¬ 
flow of praise rises up to fill all the heavens and all 
the earth with its refreshing blessing and perfume— 
till everything that hath breath cries out “Praise 
Him! Praise ye the Lord! Alleluia!” 


SONGS AMID SORROW 

Matt. 10 : 29. “Not one sparrow shall fall to the 
ground without your Father.” It is said that just 
before the batteries opened fire at the battle of Get¬ 
tysburg, an officer noticed a mother bird sitting be¬ 
side her nest pouring forth a flood of song. Then 
the long day through, the cannon roared and the 
shell shrieked and the cries of wounded men were 
everywhere, but in the moments of occasional ces¬ 
sation from firing, the officer saw that the little bird 
took up its song. So it is that the children of God 
are given songs in the night of conflict and agony. 

Once, a bird’s nest was seen on a slender limb, 
hanging over the mighty Niagara. There the bird 
nested and sang amid the roar of the cataract, as 
joyous as though far away from danger. The birds 
do not worry about being protected amidst terrors, 
being fed in hunger, housed in storms or hanging 
over precipices of danger. They sing on, in beauti- 





188 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


ful faith and trust. Our Lord uses them as an il¬ 
lustration of what our faith should be. We should 
consider the birds, for they have neither store¬ 
houses nor barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth 
them. How much better are ye than the fowls of 
the air? 

The birds come and go, but we go forever. Should 
we not sing in the evening time with the robins, 
“He giveth His beloved sleep,” and rise with the lark 
in the morning, chanting, “When I am awake, I am 
still with Thee”? The whole round world was cre¬ 
ated for us, with all its animal life; therefore we 
should not doubt God’s providence. He that careth 
for the sparrow will watch over His children. We 
certainly need His providential care, for our journey 
is through deserts of drought, valleys of sorrow, 
perils of enemies. 


THE SONGS OF THE JOYFUL HEART 

Isa. 12 : 5. “Sing unto the Lord, for He hath done 
excellent things; this is known in all the earth.” 
Isaiah’s mouth was full of the music of thanksgiving 
when he cried out, “O Lord, I will praise Thee, for 
Thou comfortedst me and madest me with joy to 
draw water out of the wells of salvation.” Earthly 
words may die; human language has its cemetery; 
but music is eternal as God. The old garments of 
thought may be laid aside for newer expressions, 
but the melody that wings them to the skies is ever 
the same. Where prose fails, holy songs, like birds 
of Paradise, rise to the heavenly country. The larger 
the outpouring of praise, the more beautiful the cli¬ 
mate of the soul, enraptured with the reflex flow of 
sacred song. Music makes a heaven on earth to go 
to heaven in. The look up and lift up of sacred 
melody is the only way to dwell in heaven before 
death opens the door. As Moses sang for joy when 
he smote the rock in Horeb for water, so we draw 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


189 


the waters of life out of the fountains of blessedness. 
Salvation and joyful praises are wedded together in 
the heart and expressed with songs of gladness. 

Drawing the living water is coming to Christ, that 
we may sing, “I will joy in the God of my salvation.” 
Sinful pleasures are like Marahs, bitter water, never 
quenching the soul thirst. “If any man thirst, let 
him come unto Me and drink; and the water I shall 
give him will be in him a well of water, springing up 
into everlasting life.” 


PRAISE FOR BLESSINGS AND MERCIES 

Luke 10 : 21. “I thank Thee, 0 Father, Lord of 
heaven and earth.” Thanksgiving and praise to our 
heavenly Father should be a perpetual incense from 
the soul’s gratitude. We should thank Him for life, 
health, happiness, for hope, peace and prosperity, 
for body, soul and spirit; for the beauty of earth and 
the glory of heaven, for Christ, our Saviour, and the 
Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier. 

Gratitude is the memory of the heart; thanksgiv¬ 
ing unexpressed is like a grate filled with fuel, but 
unlighted. Many have shackled tongues when praise 
is in order. The tongues of the dumb could sing if 
they would think what the Giver of every perfect 
gift has done for them. The wealthiest and hap¬ 
piest are those who see the most blessing in bless¬ 
ings, mercy in mercies, joys in sorrows, riches in 
God’s munificence. 

When we count our mercies, we have a thousand¬ 
fold more blessings than calamities, and every loss 
is tinged with the rainbow of hope. The thankful 
heart extracts sweetness from every flower, drinks 
gladness from every cup, treads on gems at every 
step, while the golden goal of the Father’s home and 
heart beckons onward. It is said that in prayer we 
yield to the pressure of our wants, while in praise 
we respond to the pressure of our love. 





190 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


WORSHIP IN SONG 

Ps. 100 : 2. “Come before His presence with sing¬ 
ing.” It is said that Ibsen, Hall Caine and Maeter¬ 
linck are fatalists, writing of despair, of the iron 
chain, saying, “What is, must be”; and their music 
is called a Dead March in front of a jail, always 
sounding the wailing notes of misery. The great 
masters of sacred melody sing the lofty notes, “Unto 
Him who is God over all and blessed forever more.” 
Praiseful hearts find their highest flights of worship 
in holy song. Emerson said, “Only so much do I 
know as I have lived.” May we not add, only so far 
as we have sung have we risen toward God. Faith 
and prayer mount up on the wings of sacred melody. 
Bible truths in the soul blossom into music long be¬ 
fore the saint joins the heavenly choir. 

When Bishop Mcllvaine was dying, he said, “Sing 
‘Just as I am, without one plea.’ ” When that was 
sung, he called for the Methodist hymn, “Jesus, 
Lover of my Soul.” Then, with expiring breath, he 
gasped, “Sing ‘Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me,’ ” and on 
the notes of that universal hymn of all Christendom 
he made his heavenly flight. Music charmed him 
last on earth and welcomed him first in glory. 


THE SONG IN THE NIGHT 

Ps. 42 ; 8. “Yet the Lord will command His loving¬ 
kindness in the daytime, and in the night His song 
shall be with me.” David had many nights of sor¬ 
row, in which he poured out his soul in prayer and 
praise. He often sang the minor strains of richer 
melody from the depths of his anguish. Wailings 
are as essential as paens in the development of true 
manhood. In our night of pain, we have often ex¬ 
claimed with the psalmist, “Why art thou cast 
down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted with¬ 
in me? Hope thou in God.” “Come, Ye Disconso- 




Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


191 


late” has wafted many an aching heart Godward. 
“O Love, That Wilt Not Let Me Go” has borne mil¬ 
lions of sorrowing ones up to the bosom of com¬ 
passion, where blindness beholds, sorrow sweetens; 
where the night breaks away into the morn that 
shall tearless be, and where life shall richer, fuller 
be, forevermore. 

Trials too sacred for speech find wings in song, 
and the soul rises to where but thinly the veil in¬ 
tervenes. So we may almost see “the faces we have 
loved long since and lost awhile.” 

Job in his affliction cried out: “Where is God thy 
Maker, who giveth songs in the night? ” Millions 
have found these words true, amid the pestilence 
that walketh in darkness and the terror by night, 
singing, “I know that my Redeemer liveth”; “He 
giveth both grace and glory, for His mercy endureth 
forever.” How often, in singing, the soul in visions 
floats away, as on a river of life and light, to the 
haven harbor of heaven! 

THE SONG OF SORROW AND THE SONG 
OF TRIUMPH 

Matt. 26 : 30. "And when they had sung a hymn, 
they went nnto the Mount of Olives.” The eleven 
disciples, with Jesus, formed the choir on that mem¬ 
orable night. How that song must have comforted 
their troubled spirits. Perhaps they sang: 

“Cast thy burden on the Lord and He will sustain 
thee. 

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people. 

The Lord of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is 
our refuge.” 

Thousands of martyrs have chanted triumphant 
songs on their way from prison to the stake and 
while the body was burning, the soul was wafted on 
the wings of melody to its everlasting home. 








192 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


Jesus, on His way to greater suffering than mar¬ 
tyrdom, with the weight of a world’s guilt on His 
bosom, could join the disciples in a rapturous pro¬ 
cessional song, as if marching to victory. Handel, in 
his Messiah, sings of the Man of Sorrows with won¬ 
derful pathos, especially in the words “He is de¬ 
spised—despised and rejected of men, acquainted 
with grief.’’ 

But the mighty Saviour could rise above all His 
sorrows and sing while He was being wounded for 
our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities and 
pouring out His soul unto death. Hear Him say, 
“Father forgive them; it is finished.” “Into Thy 
hands I commend my Spirit.” We may follow His 
example and while wearing a crown of thorns, sing 
of the coming crown of glory. The anthem after 
Calvary will be blessing and honor and glory and 
power be unto Him that sitteth on the throne and 
unto the Lamb forever and ever. 


SIlYGIffG OF THE SOUL 

Eph. 5 : 19. “Singing and making melody in your 
heart to the Lord.” .Christianity was born amid the 
songs of angels, and Jesus sang on his way to Geth- 
semane, two great extremes in his life. Music is 
God’s universal language of love to mankind. It 
comes to us free from denominational influences, 
creeds or doctrines, and free from the wings of 
words. 

Music and poetry are called twin sisters; the words 
more fully conveying the thought of God, while 
music awakens the melody of holy emotion. Unbelief 
never sings, for the wings of faith and hope are 
clipped. The lark only sings on rising toward the 
heavens. 

The harp of the soul is in the heart, therefore the 
heart must be right with God to offer praise in tune 




Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


193 


with the Infinite. We must make melody in our 
hearts unto the Lord. Artistic music thrills the in¬ 
tellect, but praise rises like incense from the bosom 
of loving devotion and consecration. The Holy Spirit 
puts a new song into the mouth, of harmony and 
unison with the heavenly Father. The new birth 
needs a new song appropriate to redemption. Some 
soul harps require a new tuning to bring them up 
to the concert pitch of highest praise. Let the 
Master Musician put on the keys of trouble and trial 
that you may again break forth into song, singing 
like the Psalmist, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and 
forget not all his benefits.” 


THE POWER OF A CHRISTIAN SONG 

Acts 16 : 25. “At midnight Paul and Silas prayed, 
and sang praises unto God.” With bleeding backs, 
in the inner prison, with feet fast in the stocks, in the 
darkness of midnight, with no human hope of de¬ 
livery, Paul and Silas were so filled with the light 
and love of God that they were full of rejoicing that 
they could suffer for Jesus’ sake. It is thought that 
they sang from David’s Psalm, saying: 

The sorrows of death compassed me. 

Then called I upon the name of the Lord. 

God is our refuge and strength, 

A very present help in time of trouble. 
iHe that keepeth thee will not slumber. 

The other prisoners marveled at songs sung under 
such sorrow. Then the prison trembled; the dis¬ 
ciples’ feet were released, their bonds loosened, and 
the jailer, rushing toward them, was surprised that 
they had not escaped, and cried out, “What shall I do 
to be saved?” Them, he washed their stripes and 
sent word to the authorities. Paul and Silas would 
not leave when invited to do so by the officers of 





194 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


the city. They were there for victory, and would 
not depart from the prison until the great men of 
government bowed before them, pleading that they 
depart in peace. 

What wonderful change that song-prayer pro¬ 
duced! Are not faith songs the true remedy for 
trouble? Do they not inspire hope in the despondent, 
and reach the very heart of God? Does not all 
heaven resound with the music of our singing, echo¬ 
ing back its pleading melodies? 

Singing the national songs of the kingdom of God 
inspires the whole army to push forward in the battle 
of the good fight of faith. Every soul should be a 
singing pilgrim on the highway of holiness, wearing 
the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, 
making prisons palaces and dungeons bright, while 
Nature's trembling opens the doors of opportunity 
to preach Jesus to lost men. 


THE UNIVERSAL TONGUE 

Acts 2 : 8. “How hear we every man in our own 
language wherein we were born?” This is not a 
strange occurrence, for every soul in communion 
with God hears him speak in the language in which 
it was born. The language of heaven is one universal 
tongue. An old Welshman, giving testimony in meet¬ 
ing, said: “I do not understand how Jesus could be 
a Jew when he speaks to me in Welsh.” He who has 
redeemed us out of every kindred and tongue and 
people tells us of His love and life in one glorious 
spiritual language. 

Music is a universal language; every one hears the 
voice of melody in the same language. “Home, Sweet 
Home” awakens similar emotions among all nation¬ 
alities. Beauty is another voice that needs no trans¬ 
lation in order to be thrilled by its unchangeable ex¬ 
pression. These grandest gifts of our Father, being 


l 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 195 


expressed alike to all, Indicate the design of the 
Creator for the final brotherhood of man and the 
federation of all nationalities into His eternal king¬ 
dom. Oneness, unity, liberty and fellowship are 
words that God speaks alike to all. 

The Christian singers of all ages will unite joy¬ 
ously in the song of Moses and the Lamb. It will be 
the culminating music of heroic souls in praising 
Almighty God in one glorious anthem. Music does 
not teach creeds, but love; it strikes directly to the 
heart; it elevates, ennobles and thrills the soul with 
holy praises and highest aspirations. Music is truth, 
playing on the harp of the soul, just like God’s lan¬ 
guage of love. 


THE MISSION OF BEAUTY 

Eccles. 3 : 11. “He hath made everything beautiful 
in his time.* Beauty is one of the outer doors of 
the temple of the soul, where God first knocks for 
admittance. The flowers and foliage, the trees and 
hillsides, the rivers and valleys, are spread out to 
awaken the love of the beautiful in human hearts. 
Music and painting, sculpture and architecture, 
poetry and song, are ministering spirits of heavenly 
origin to arouse the beauty of holiness in the soul. 

The mission of beauty is divine, leading on the 
admirer, entranced with loveliness, until he sees the 
King in His beauty and falls in love with the Lover 
of his being. If beauty aids worship in earthly 
temples, how much more in the heavenly? If the 
soul, being attracted by the beautiful, possesses also 
the power to picture grand portraits of nature’s 
glories for itself and others, then we become like 
nature and nature’s God, beauty being the handmaid 
leading us up to the Divine. Stars are more inspir¬ 
ing than clouds; sunlight than shadow, but love is 
greater than beauty. 





196 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


The true and the good are married by the beautiful 
standing between and illuminating both. The uni¬ 
verse being a temple of beauty, some have worship 
only for the sublime edifice, forgetting to bow in 
adoration before the King within. Though the 
heavens declare the glory of God, they are not Him¬ 
self. A banquet with the King is infinitely more to 
be desired than to feast the eyes upon His robes and 
riches, for the golden sunsets, the awakening day, 
the dewy jewels of the morning, the birds and 
flowers are but reflections of the beauty of holiness 
from the face of the Christ. 





Mpmt memorial ®aga 

* 

THE BIRTH OF THE SAVIOUR 

Matth. 2 : 2. “Where is He that is hornr This 
is Jesus’ Birthday. Will you bring Him tears for 
pearls, consecration for gold, love for frankincense? 
Then your own nativity will be as glorious as that 
of the manger. Will you love and give to others as 
He loves and gives to you? The Christ Child gives 
the child spirit. The sign that God became man, is a 
Babe. The sign that you are saved, is the childlike¬ 
ness or simplicity, receptivity, trustfulness, peaceful¬ 
ness and love. Jesus is in us as He was in the 
Babe; “for we are in Him that is true” Our Lord 
entered manhood through childhood, to re-discover 
the child, that men might have childlike faith. Isaiah 
saw Jesus as a little child; so Christendom sees Him 
at Christmas time. 

The star of Bethlehem burst into sunrise on that 
holy night; it was the dawn of peace, emancipation 
and redemption—the unsetting sun, whose morning 
is not yet gone, whose noonday may be a thousand 
years away when Christ will receive all millions at 
His feet. The world today is re-echoing the cry, 
“Where is He that is born,” and it will be true for¬ 
ever, “a little child shall lead them.” 

Jesus had a new birth resurrection morning. Death 
was the way to life; the grave, the manger; immor¬ 
tality, His lifetime. We shall be in His glorified 
likeness when He says, “Come forth.” If the holy 
child Jesus led us away from earth, it may be a 
little child will meet you at the gates of Heaven 
and lead you up to Him. 


197 


198 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


TRIUMPH OVER DEATH 

John 11 : 25. “I am the resurrection and the life.” 
No one doubts death. Death is as certain as life, 
yea, it is the apparent conqueror of life. No mortal 
returns to tell of the world beyond death. Every 
explorer's lips are sealed except One, who is the 
Author of life and the Victor over death. He changed 
the name of death, calling it “going away,” “an ex¬ 
odus,” “a coming for you.” 

Paul calls death “a departure”; a putting off of a 
worn-out tabernacle that the occupant may enter 
his mansion. Death here is abolished; life lives. 
Death unclothes that we may be clothed upon with 
immortal vesture. Death becomes a messenger con¬ 
ducting the soul into its new apartment of celestial 
splendors. He helps the corruptible to put on in- 
corruption; he gears the wheels of life into the 
eternal movement. “O Death, where is thy sting? 
O Grave, where is thy victory.” 

Because Christ is risen, we shall rise with Him; 
the angels of light encircling the tomb of Jesus 
proclaimed a risen Redeemer, that the world might 
be filled with the joy of hope. 

Jesus commissioned a woman to tell the first 
story of His resurrection, while He ascended to pre¬ 
pare a place in His Father’s house for all the re¬ 
deemed. To doubt Christ’s Word is to doubt Him. 
To everyone that believeth, He is the life-giving 
Saviour. What time the heart is troubled, it trusts 
and rejoices, believing that He will one day take us 
where we shall hunger and thirst no more, where 
tears never fall and sorrows never come, where the 
Lamb of God shall feed and lead them into the living 
fountains of water. These wonderful words should 
deliver every heart from the bondage of the fear 
of death. We should behold the glorified Christ in 
our thoughts, coming from His entombment, travel¬ 
ing in the greatness of His strength, mighty to save. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


199 


“He giveth His beloved sleep,” that we may have a 
beautiful awakening, see Him as He is and feel for¬ 
ever safe and satisfied. 


THE HOLY BABE 

Luke 2 : 12. “Ye shall find the Babe wrapped in 
swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.* Correggio’s 
Holy Night occupies the chief place among all the 
portrayals of the Nativity. It stands alongside the 
Sistine Madonna in its general popularity. The bril¬ 
liant light of the scene rises from the form of the 
Holy Child, radiating purity and beauty throughout 
the dark manger till the morning breaks over the 
hills. 

The shepherds who have just arrived are almost 
blinded by the soft beams from the Child’s face. One 
of them seems to be telling the mother of their vision 
of the angels, but Mary’s eyes are beholding a more 
enrapturing sight—the face of the wonderful child. 
In the air above hovers a company of angelic spirits, 
as if keeping vigils over the Babe. Mary is kneeling 
before the rude wooden crib with her arms en¬ 
circling the Child. She has a facial expression of 
intense interest and tenderness. Joseph in the back¬ 
ground is preventing the donkey from getting too 
near the scene. Songs of joy and gladness are hail¬ 
ing the newborn King, the center of the picture, and 
the world’s desire. 

The heavenly Father is never nearer a human soul 
than when He lays a little child in a mother’s arms; 
but when that child is His only begotten Son, the 
Lord of Glory, the Saviour of men, what bliss must 
have filled that mother’s heart on that holy, silent 
night! Her whole being seems transfigured with the 
thought that she has become the medium for the 
Son of God to be made flesh for the redemption of 
the world. 





200 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


THE WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS GIFT 

II Cor. 9 : 15. “Thanks be unto God for His un¬ 
speakable Gift.” Bethlehem is the goal of man’s 
weary march. Here we receive the gift of the Child- 
Christ, who is to become our Saviour from sin, our 
hope from despair, and our life from the dead. The 
door of this stable opens into the pathway to the 
palace of the King. The humblest is the holiest 
place. 

The child of Bethlehem’s manger, the poorest and 
weakest of earth, one day will be King of the Uni¬ 
verse, crowned with many crowns. Angels are His 
attendants; wise men His worshippers. A new star 
is the finger pointing to His birthplace, the shepherds 
are His watchers and all the future His realm. 

The wonderful Christmas Gift is yours, if you will 
take the Christ into your heart; but if the door to 
your being, like the inn, is closed against Him, if 
there is no room for Him in your darkened soul, you 
will suffer regret, disgrace and sorrow. The great¬ 
ness of the Gift is indescribable, because with Him 
you have all other treasures—all other needs sup¬ 
plied. 

Human language fails to portray more than the 
fringe of. His robes, the beginning of His power, the 
touch of His fingers. The unspeakableness of His 
infinite love will ever invite the affectionate approach 
of His followers. 


REMEMBER HDI WITH YOUR HEART 

II Tim. 2 : 8, R. Y. “Remember Jesus Christ, risen 
from the dead.” When you remember our Lord at 
the Holy Communion as He has commanded, you are 
also to remember Him everywhere else in life. What¬ 
soever you do or think, make all your being a com¬ 
munion memorial of His glory. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 201 


The last words Paul ever wrote were his letters 
to Timothy, when he said, as his final commission to 
his beloved young friend, “Remember Jesus Christ, 
risen from the dead.” Don’t for a moment forget 
Him who lived, suffered, died and rose again for you 
and is alive forever more. The least you can do is 
to remember, with all your heart’s deepest affection, 
Him who bore the cross for you. 

Paul was not ashamed to remember Jesus Christ 
crucified, to preach peace through His blood, power 
by His cross, immortality by His resurrection, and 
heavenly mansions not made with hands, wrought by 
everlasting love. 

No wonder the apostle said, “Remember, Timothy, 
to endure hardness as a good soldier, when you think 
of Jesus, how He endured the cross, despising the 
shame, for you.” 

When you have preached the Word—the whole 
Gospel—when you have fought the good fight, fin¬ 
ished your course, the Enoch chariot, the Elijah 
chariot, the Christ chariot, will swing low for you to 
go sweeping through the gates, washed in the 
precious blood of Jesus. Then you will have your 
reward, your coronation day, when a crown of glory 
will be yours, which the Lord will give to all who 
remember Him and love His appearing. 


HUMILITY 

Mark 16 : 9. “Now when Jesus was risen, early 
the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary 
Magdalene.” Mary Magdalene is celebrated in art 
next to the mother of Jesus. There was such beau¬ 
tiful expression and loveliness in her countenance 
that the eyes of the world have delighted to gaze on 
her face. Titian and Murillo painted her as turn¬ 
ing away from the world of sin that she might look 
heavenward, where her Christ had gone, showing 




202 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


in her face her intense longing to follow Him. Guido 
Reni portrays Mary as looking downward, contem¬ 
plating the cross which she is holding in her hand. 
This is an exquisite representation of her devotion, 
all-absorbing love and absolute self-surrender to 
Him who is the Christ crucified. Rosetti has given 
the world a striking portrait of Mary at the door of 
Simon. He has written a poem descriptive of the 
fine ideal of his painting. 

“Oh, loose me! Seest thou not my Bridegroom’s face 
That draws me to Him? For His feet my kiss, 

My hair, my tears He craves to-day: and oh, 
What words can tell what other day and place 
Shall see me clasp those blood-stained feet of His? 
He needs me, calls me, loves me: let me go! ” 

Rubens’s “Christ in the House of Simon” repre¬ 
sents cultured guests from the town who, with Si¬ 
mon, are revolting against Jesus allowing a harlot 
to wash His feet. Three of the disciples, also among 
the invited, are almost equally surprised until Jesus 
begins to reprove Simon, whose heart seems like 
steel in its pride and self-righteousness. 

Is not this a scene true to life in our day, where 
the rich and great, wrapped in their garments of 
social distinction, racial caste and churchly form, 
draw away from Him who preached that “though 
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.” 


THE DIVINE GARDENER 

John 20 : 15. “Supposing Him to be the gardener.” 
Christ has been given many names in the Bible, but 
none more significant than Mary’s unintended name, 
the “Divine Gardener.” The first man, Adam, dwelt 
in a lovely garden of Edenic beauty. The second 
Man, Jesus, from the gardens of Paradise came to 
cultivate soul gardens that they might bring forth 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 203 


fruits and flowers to the glory of the church mili¬ 
tant and finally be transplanted into the fields of 
the church triumphant. 

Mary thought Him Joseph’s gardener, who had 
given a resting place for the body of her Saviour; 
but she little thought He was the world’s Gardener, 
who had beautified her own spirit with the white 
lilies of purity, peace and love. Mary had tried to be 
her own gardener, but had sadly failed to stop the 
growth of carnal, thorny briars, poisonous weeds of 
passion, tares of unholy desire; but when she cast 
herself at Jesus’ feet, weeping the bitter tears of 
penitence, Mary went forth in the beauty of her 
Divine Gardener. 

Do we not all need the care, the cultivation, the 
pruning, the grafting, the breaking up of the fallow 
ground, at the hand of our celestial Gardener? Then 
we shall bear fruit unto life eternal, and we shall 
beautify Paradise regained with the perennial flow¬ 
ers of hope, faith and love, like those planted on that 
Easter morning in the soul garden of Mary Magda¬ 
lene. 


OUR LOVING REDEEMER 

Luke 24 : 6. “He is not here, but is risen.” A 
Mohammedan once said to a missionary, “We have 
one thing you have not. When we go to our Mecca, 
we find at least a cofiin.” “That is just the differ¬ 
ence,” replied the missionary. “Our Redeemer liveth, 
while yours is dead.” Christianity does not go to 
monuments or mausoleums as do the worshippers 
of Menu, Buddha, Confucius or Zoroaster. Ours is 
the risen Lord, alive forever more. 

To worship ancestors, saints, or great religious 
leaders is idolatry. We should worship only Him 
who has power over life, who bound the monster 
death in chains and led him away captive forever. 
An infidel once tried to frighten a little child by say¬ 
ing, “Your God was killed on Calvary.” But even 







204 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


the little child understood that Jesus’ death and 
resurrection meant the life and immortality of all 
those who love Him; that His followers would rise 
in newness of soul life in this world and dwell with 
Him in everlasting life in the world to come. 


KNOWING CHRIST 

Luke 24 ; 16. “Their eyes were holden.” Jesus’ 
promise, “Lo, I am with you alway,” is fulfilled in 
the life of every believer. But we do not always 
realize His divine presence. He often walks with 
us and we know Him not for the moment till some 
new glory flashes upon the soul, when we cry out, 
“My Lord and my God!” His visit was unexpected 
at that hour. It was during Paul’s slumber that 
he heard the Macedonian call. It was on his way 
to Damascus that he heard, “I am Jesus whom thou 
persecutest.” Our Lord often reveals Himself and 
His great truths suddenly. A luminous flash of 
holy light fills the soul as we see Him transfigured 
or crucified, risen or ascending, or when we are 
filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. 

These special illuminations are separate and dis¬ 
tinct from the gradual shining, more and more unto 
the perfect day. These unusual visions are so im¬ 
pressed upon the mind as never to be effaced. Some¬ 
times, when our eyes are suddenly opened to these 
new and beautiful revelations, He appears to vanish 
from our sight, and then we wonder how our hearts 
burned within us at His near approach and wonder¬ 
ful expositions of His truth. 

In a general way our expectation is in Him, but 
He delights to appear often as the unexpected Guest 
at the moment. He has a new picture of His love 
and power to present, a new call to greater useful¬ 
ness and richer attainment. His presence with us 
is therefore partially concealed, for we could only 
endure His great glory on occasional periods. When 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 205 


we are endowed with glorified body and immortalized 
spirit, then we may see Him face to face in the full¬ 
ness of His beauty and power. 


“ COME A1YD DINE ” 

John 21 : 5, 12. “Then Jesus said unto them, Chil¬ 
dren, have ye any meat? They answered, No. Jesns 
saith nnto them, Come and dine.” Our Lord did not 
need the great draft of fishes they had caught, by 
casting the net on the right side of the ship; He had 
bread and fish already on the fire. Where the faith¬ 
ful toiler is, Christ is always present. He is One 
among the lowly, ready to feed the hungry. After 
the meal is over, He has meat to give them they 
know not of. He says, “I am the living bread of 
life; He that eateth of me shall live by me. He that 
drinketh of the water I shall give him, shall never 
thirst. Therefore, partake until the soul is fully sat¬ 
isfied.” Christ’s peace is medicine to lessen pain; 
His love, food for the famished. He commissions 
His disciples to go forth and invite the world to 
come and dine, saying, “Go out into the highways 
and hedges and compel them to come in to my 
supper.” Bread may run short in famine and war, 
but He has an inexhaustible supply. He can feed 
thousands as well as one. The upper room, the 
Transfiguration Mount and the seaside were eating- 
places for all the people who followed Him. When 
He breaks the bread, every place is a sacrament, 
every scene of fellowship is a Holy Communion 
supper with Him. Bodily food is an emblem of the 
spiritual manna which comes down from heaven. 
He helps in business life as well as in soul pros¬ 
perity. He tells where to cast the net for a multi¬ 
tude of fishes or for a lost world. Ask Him, the 
great Guide; He knows the way, the how, when and 
where. Obey His command, launch out in the deep 
waters of His love, you who are standing on the 







206 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


shore fearful of the waves. He will not suffer you 
to sink down; His hand holds, His fulness fills. 
Come and dine with the King of kings, the Lord of 
glory; His table is full and free and forever wait¬ 
ing your coming. 


CHRIST’S OFFERING AND OURS 

I Cor. 5 : 7. “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for 
us.” Before Jesus’ advent the sacrifices of the Old 
Testament times were received as an offering for 
sin, because Jesus was slain from the foundation of 
the world. They were types of the one sacrifice 
Jesus made of himself. 

The Passover memorialized Israel’s deliverance 
from Egyptian bondage, while the Lord’s Supper is 
a memory of our deliverance from the penalty and 
power of sin. In the Lord’s Supper we accept the 
offering of Christ for our salvation. We also are to 
present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and accept¬ 
able unto God, not being conformed to this world, 
but transformed. Christ has made his offering; we 
must make ours. The two combined united in holy 
signature to the promises to pay all penalties against 

The blessedness of the remembrance of Jesus is 
nearly all on our side. Eating and drinking at His 
table, we have fellowship and friendship with one 
who sticketh closer than a brother. A believing, 
trusting remembrance appropriates His shed blood 
for cleansing our sin away and puts His crimson 
communion. We come as one sick to the Healer; 
as sorrowful to the Comforter, as hungry to the 
Bread of life, as guilty to the cleansing blood. We 
come, burdened, tempted, tried, to him who said, 
“Come unto me, and I will give you rest.” This sac¬ 
rificial sacrament is a sign and seal that Christ, the 
Lamb without spot, has been offered for redemption. 
It is Christ’s covenant with His children that we, 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 207 


who remember Him, shall receive all the benefits of 
His gift of Himself to mankind. 


“That it was well to come 
For deeper rest to this still room. 

For here the habit of the soul 
Feels less the outer world’s control. 

The world that time and sense have known 
Falls off and leaves us God alone.” 


THE MEANING OF COMMUNION 

I Cor. 11 : 24. “This do in remembrance of me.” 
Our Lord does not need our loving remembrance to 
increase His power, glory and kingly rule. We can¬ 
not add anything to His infinity. If we should forget 
to remember Him, the King in His beauty will shine 
on forever just the same. We may decline His in¬ 
vitation to the Holy Supper, never putting a crumb 
of bread to our lips in remembrance of Him, but He 
will be the same yesterday, today and forever. We 
may increase His joy by our coming, but nothing 
can affect the character of the unchangeable Christ, 
the soul and to provide all blessings for keeping, 
guiding and saving. This supper commemorates the 
victories of His death and the triumphs of His resur¬ 
rection. 

We are to observe this communion memorial till 
He comes again. He may come tomorrow or today, 
while we assemble. As a family would have a vacant 
chair at the table for an expectant son, so we wait 
and look at every communion for His coming. In 
the fulness of time He will come and take us with 
Him to the heavenly feast. 

“For thee the burning thirst, 

The shame, the mortal strife, 

The broken heart, the side transpierced; 

To us the Bread of Life!” 





208 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


SYMBOL OF CHRIST 

Luke 22 : 19. ‘‘This is My body which is given for 
you.” The bread and wine of the communion are 
symbols of the body and blood of Jesus. That which 
appeals to the eye is more lasting than abstract 
thoughts coming directly to the mind. A parable is 
a picture hung on memory’s walls forever. The Old 
Testament tabernacle and every thing in it were por¬ 
traits of some spiritual truth to be impressed on the 
soul. Our Lord spake in parables. 

As Jesus, in His humanity, pictured the fatherhood 
of God, so this holy memorial reveals Jesus to mem 
We do not worship the symbol, but the person sym¬ 
bolized. It would be idolatry to adore the bread and 
wine as the literal embodiment of our Lord. In 
these emblems, Christ is idealized. How appropriate 
these symbols are! The grain is put into the dark 
earth to die, to spring up and grow amid storms, 
frost and noxious weeds until the harvest. Then it 
is ground to dust and over the fire becomes bread. 
“Except a corn of wheat die, it abideth alone.” Thus 
Jesus bore our burdens, carried our sorrows down 
to the gates of death, and opened up the way of life 
to an eternal harvest time. As the grapes are 
crushed for the wine, so He trod alone the wine press 
of Divine wrath, coming forth “with dyed garments 
from Bozrah, travelling in the greatness of His 
strength, mighty to save.” 


THE SPIRIT OF COMMUNION 

I Cor. 11 : 27. “Whosoever shall eat this bread and 
drink this cup unworthily shaU be guilty of the body 
and blood of the Lord.” Paul is referring to some 
who came to the table to eat a meal for bodily sus¬ 
tenance, or to those who should partake for the 
appearance of devotion while the heart was far from 






Meditations for the Quiet Hour 209 


Him. It is expected that all communicants feel at 
times their own unworthiness to come to the Lord’s 
table, for they are conscious that they can do nothing 
to merit salvation, which is a free gift from Him who 
alone is worthy to receive glory, honor, power, 
riches, wisdom and blessing. 

This is the Lord’s Supper, and whosoever will may 
come and freely sup in remembrance of Christ, 
though he may not be worthy so much as to gather 
the crumbs under the table. At each approach to 
the Holy Communion we should examine ourselves 
preparatory to a more complete consecration to 
Christ, asking ourselves the question, “Do we love 
one another as Jesus loves us? Is there no matred 
in our heart against any person? Are we seeking 
to live a life of sacrificing service for others? Are 
we pure in our pleasures, our reading, our thoughts, 
our business life? Whatsoever we do, is it all to 
the glory of Christ?” Then we are in the spirit of 
sweet fellowship with Him, having Him enshrined in 
our hearts. 


A NEW TEAK'S SONG OF PRAISE 

Ps. 103 : 2. “Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, and forget 
not all His benefits.” 

“There’s not the smallest orb which thou beholdest, 
But in his motion like an angel sings.” 

If all the universe of nature is resonant with har¬ 
monies to heaven, shall man be silent? Shall the 
heart of him who is a little lower than the angels 
be out of tune with the music of the spheres, the 
birds, the zephyrs, and the great chorus of creation? 

In the opening days of another new year, may we 
not all join in the psalm of praise to the Highest for 
all His benefits? Let us think of divine forgiveness, 
of life crowned with loving-kindness and tender mer¬ 
cies, of sorrows comforted, of needs supplied, of 





210 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


hopes inspired and of glory promised. We are enter¬ 
ing upon another year of research and discovery 
among the unsearchable riches of Christ. Our hearts 
should beat in harmony with all the melodies of 
righteousness and truth. Poetry and music are the 
grand mediums of expression of the emotions of 
gratitude and thanksgiving to God for His creative¬ 
ness, care and comfort during another year. When, 
like the psalmist, we are musing about God’s good¬ 
ness, the fire of love mounts upon wings of holy 
song, shouting the praises of the Infinite. 

The melody of song is the blossoming of our 
adoration, which is to be followed by abundance of 
fruitage and faithfulness. Let us therefore, with 
thanksgiving, celebrate the opening of another Happy 
New Year. 


THE GLORIOUS PROMISE OF BIMORTALITY 

John 11 : 26. “Whosoever liveth and believeth in 
Me shall never die.” It is death that dies, not life. 
Death is but the beginning of life. What seems dying 
is only transition; while the body is changing its 
form, the soul moves into the grander dwellings. 

Do we believe the Christ when He says “shall 
never die”? Should not this motto be engraved on 
every Christian tomb as it is written across the sky 
of hope? It is heaven’s proclamation to earth’s 
dying pilgrims. “Shall never die” is the anthem of 
angels, making music on the harp of the souls of 
mortals. 

When Jesus put on His resurrection robes, He 
abolished death and brought life and immortality to 
light. We live because He lives. The Giver of life, 
dwelling in us, perpetuates His gift into endless 
cycles of ages. Our life in indissoluble union with 
Him is coeternal wit hHis being. It is one garment 
throughout, the human and the divine interwoven. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 211 


The creation of life must be a mightier act than its 
continuance. Then begone, unbelief, doubt and fear, 
for we are risen with Him, and death hath no power 
over its Victor. He is alive forevermore and so are 
we in Him. “Shall never die!” Shout it as the grim 
monster approaches; sing it in the face of all your 
fears in the valley and shadow as you are trium¬ 
phantly marching to Zion through death's golden 
gateway! 


MOTHER 

Prov. 6 : 20. “Forsake not the law of thy mother.” 
Between Easter and Children’s Day, how beautiful 
to observe a Mother’s Memorial Day; the white car¬ 
nation, the memory flower is an emblem of the 
purity and fragrance in the lives of holy mother¬ 
hood. Jesus, Home and Mother are words that touch 
the heart of the world deeper than any others. If 
it is an angel mother, she makes heaven more in¬ 
viting; if still in the earthly home, she is the guide 
and unchangeable friend, moving about in sweet 
ministries and loving service. 

A friend said to S. S. Prentice: “I congratulate the 
mother who has such a son.” He replied, “Rather 
congratulate the son on having such a mother.” 
Richter says, “To a man who has had a noble mother, 
all women are sacred for her sake.” The mother, 
more than any other, affects the moral and spiritual 
part of the children’s character. She is their con¬ 
stant companion and teacher in formative years. 
The child is ever imitating and assimilating the 
mother nature. It is only in after life that men gaze 
backward and behold how a mother’s hands and 
heart of love molded their young lives and shaped 
their destiny. 

No child can fully realize the intensity of a moth¬ 
er’s anxiety as she bids good-bye to the son or 
daughter going out of the old home to enter school 





212 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


or business life. She realizes that she will not be 
able to give counsel as in their younger days; she 
does not need to promise to remember them in her 
prayers. She cannot help praying—every breath is 
prayer. Oh, that the youth of America may be true 
to their mothers and their mothers’ God! 


CHILDREN’S DAY 

Eph. 6 : 1, 3. “Children, obey your parents in the 
Lord, .... that it may be well with thee.* If 
we have All Saints’ Day, why not have a day for the 
saints that are to be, who number about eighteen 
millions in the population of our country? Children’s 
Day will help decide what all the future days of 
the Church and State will become. What a vast 
army for conquest in the battle for truth and right¬ 
eousness is marching under the flag of the Cross of 
the Sunday School and the nation! Here our liber¬ 
ties are to be won or lost, Christian education to rise 
or fall. Greater than the battle of Thermopylae is 
the peaceful fight for closed saloons, brothels and 
gambling dens, for an open Bible, a free church, 
free schools and free people. 

The multitude of little folks are delighted to have 
a festival of flowers, birds, songs and services all for 
themselves. It is also a great day for the parents 
and friends of the children and young people; they 
are pleased that the church takes such an interest in 
the youth of the land. They listen with pleasure to 
recitations, choruses, music and the words from the 
speaker about educational duties and privileges. 
Then the offering for the great cause of education 
closes the delightful exercises. 

The light of education and the Light of the World 
shine more clearly after the brilliant scenes of Chil¬ 
dren’s Day. The bright and beautiful flowers are a 
symbol of childhood in their purity, beauty and 








Meditations for the Quiet Hour 213 


fragrance. Their cheery blooms are like the bright 
smiles and winsome looks of these living flowers of 
the home. Flowers are called “the angels of earth,” 
wooing young people to the higher life, as they fol¬ 
low Him who is called the Rose of Sharon and the 
Lily of the Valley. Parents, looking the way the 
pattering feet are treading, will follow Him who is 
the Way, the Truth and the Life. 


PARENTAL LOVE 

Prov. 6 : 20. “Keep the commandments of thy 
father.” If Mothers’ Day is not changed to “Par¬ 
ents’ Day,” then Fathers’ Day should he uni¬ 
versal. “Honor thy father and thy mother” is the 
command of the Heavenly Father. Surely the father 
feels the responsibility of teaching and training the 
children equally with the mother. The home is con¬ 
trolled by both parents and should be magnified on 
these memorial days. It is the head of the river of 
church and national life, of school and business life. 

When children obey their parents in the Lord, 
both father and mother live again in the lives of their 
household. How beautiful is parental love! How 
faithful and undying! Like as a father loveth his 
child, so the Lord loveth. “As one whom his mother 
comforteth, so will I comfort you.” “If parents give 
good gifts to their children, how much more will 
your Heavenly Father give good things to them 
which ask Him.” Gor thus presides over His in¬ 
numerable family as the parent over the humble 
home. 

Bishop F. W. Warne of India tells how his aged 
father put his hands on his head, blessing him in the 
patriarchal manner, and then prayed all that night 
for his son’s conversion. The mother telling her 
son in the morning how the father had passed a 
sleepless night was the means of his immediate con- 






214 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


version. This is parental religion, the church in the 
home. Such a father and mother are our best 
friends, our first friends, our last friends, and our 
eternal friends. There are no substitutes for par¬ 
ental care. There are no richer gifts to posterity 
than the children of Christian parentage. To be a 
parent is to be a priest in the home, a patriot in 
the country, a partner with the Almighty. 


THE LENTEN SEASON 

During the forty days of Lent preceding Easter, 
the Christian world commemorates Christ’s fasting 
and temptation in the wilderness, and in the closing 
Passion Week, His sufferings and death. The his¬ 
tory of the Lenten season reaches back to the third 
century, when it was instituted by the Greek, Rom¬ 
an and Oriental churches. Today it is observed by 
nearly all Protestant bodies. 

Some people in the past have erred by making this 
solemn occasion a time for social affairs, charity 
matters, money-raising events; almost everything 
except the prayer and praise, the meditation and re¬ 
flection, the self-examination and reconsecration so 
appropriate in this period of holy worship. 

In the busy whirl of life, is it not beautiful to par¬ 
take of these Lenten services? Here we walk with 
Him in closer company and communion, that we may 
see light in His light, have less of self and more of 
Him, and cry, “What shall I render unto the Lord 
for all His benefits?” 

Many churches look forward to this period as a 
revival season for the deepening of the spiritual life 
and for the ingathering of souls to the Master. 
Should it not be a time for fasting in regard to tem¬ 
poralities and feasting in spiritualities, of self- 
denial and self-consecration, of plain living and high 
thinking? The very duties and denials required of 










Meditations for the Quiet Hour 215 


Christians during this solemn season will aid each 
individual church in special services. Is not this 
practical Christianity, living to help others, to lift 
up Christ to men and to humiliate self? Self-denial 
of food, of amusements and luxurious ease will not 
only be a blessing to the individual but to the 
cause of general Christianity. When we commem¬ 
orate our Saviour’s sacrifice for mankind, we should 
become examples of that same spirit to the world. 


THE GUIDE THROUGH THE GATE 

Ps. 90: 12. “So teach us to number our days, that 
we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” The longest 
day at last bends down to evening.” In the morning 
begins the new year of hope and victory. May we 
carry no hatred, no evil habit across the threshold 
of 1919. All enmities should lie in the grave of the 
buried past. Every tomorrow should be better than 
yesterday, crowning the soul with pardon and peace. 
It is thus that sorrow will be turned to praise, gloom 
to gladness, the false to the true. 

One should never neglect or forget the presence of 
the Unchangeable One who walks with us all the 
way, leading us over dangerous places and guiding 
amid the mazes of mystery to His palace home. 
Continued communion with Him can never exhaust 
the resources of His love, nor reach the limit of His 
thought, nor measure the beauty of His holiness. 
Infinity is His dwelling-place; without Him there is 
no being inviting you to an eternal ideal, no face 
revealing the glory of the Father, no person who can 
tell you the secret of life, the purpose of the universe, 
or the way to heart satisfaction amid the unrest 
and disapponitments of time. 

He alone can preserve thy going out and thy 
coming in from this time forth and even forevermore. 






216 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


He is the bread of life for soul hunger, the water of 
life for thirst. In Him we are filled with all the ful¬ 
ness of God. 

So, hope-lit New Year, with thy joys uncertain, 
Whose unsolved mystery none may foretell, 

I calmly trust my God to lift the curtain; 

Safe in his love, for me ’twill all be well. 





Htsirttatimtfl Upon Jfatfmtal £>nb\tttz 

* 

THE NATION’S FLAG 

Isa. 11 : 12. “And He shall set np an ensign for 
the nation.” Our Star-spangled Banner is the sym¬ 
bolic concentration of the principle of American lib¬ 
erty. Its waving folds stand for what we are and 
hope to be. The wealth and spirit, the power and 
strength of our people are behind the flag, ever fol¬ 
lowing it to victory. When other nations are in 
peril, uttering the Macedonian cry, we answer, “Our 
country is the world; our countrymen are mankind.” 

Old Glory was first waved by Washington and now 
mingles with the flags of all nations as the mother 
of republics on many shores. The flag is the picture 
of the Declaration of Independence, the ensign of 
our institutions. None should ever be ashamed of 
Old Glory, especially when they remember that it has 
floated victoriously over Yorktown, New Orleans, 
Mexico, Appomattox, Manila and Santiago, and soon 
may wave its peaceful folds over the European con¬ 
flict. We should be proud that it has never trailed in 
the dust of defeat or dishonor, and it ever points to 
grander achievements in the future of the race of 
mankind. Its cry is “Freedom from the golden bands 
of kingly power or from the iron shackles of tyran¬ 
nical despots!” To die on the field of battle in de¬ 
fense of human liberty is glory enough for any 
patriot. Nothing is greater unless it be to help per¬ 
petuate freedom in the peaceful progress of truth 
and justice. Prosperity should ever mean larger 
civilization, wider human privileges, longer life, 
liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 


217 


218 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


THE HUMAN AND THE DIYINE 

Matt. 22 : 21. “Render therefore nnto Caesar the 
things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things 
which are God’s.” What are the things that are 
Caesar’s? Where do we draw the line between human 
and Divine governments? When the individual con¬ 
science is invaded by the State, as in the case of 
the Fugitive Slave Law, or the taxation of the col¬ 
onies without representation; when a law is con¬ 
trary to the moral sense of justice; then we must 
obey God rather than man. Is it not Christianity’s 
mission to make the things of Caesar the things of 
God, so that the voice of the people will be the voice 
of God? Our Lord did not endorse here the union 
of church and State. They are two separate realms 
which should act in harmony. Christ’s kingdom is 
spiritual and eternal; nationalities are temporary 
and finite. 

When the church has sought to rule in both realms 
she has become the most despotic of tyrants, invad¬ 
ing the domain of individual liberty. Body and soul 
have been sacked and tortured on the rack and in 
the flames, while the church has been corrupted and 
demoralized. 

The true mission of the church is to the individual 
and her great text is, “What shall it profit a man if 
he shall gain the whole world and lose his own 
soul?” Here is a question above all state considera¬ 
tions. 

Governments, however, are ordained of God and 
we are to help uphold the law of the land, but gov¬ 
ernments are accountable to the Almighty and He 
will judge them. Our duty to the civil government 
is the same as our duty to our neighbor, helping to 
save nations as well as souls; helping to blot out 
national evils, redressing wrongs, purifying peoples, 
making the things of Caesar the things of God, that 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 219 


His will may be done on earth as in heaven, till the 
kingdoms of men become the kingdoms of the Christ. 


NATIONS TURNING TO GOD 

Isa. 55 : 5. “Nations that knew not Thee shall run 
nnto Thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the 
Holy One of Israel; for He hath glorified thee.” Songs 
of redemption are more melodious than anthems of 
creation, therefore the music of this Thanksgiving 
time should reach the loftiest concert pitch. The 
night of war is passing, the day of liberty is 
dawning. The crucifixion of suffering will be fol¬ 
lowed by the resurrection victory. O morning land 
of triumph! Flowers of peace and righteousness 
blossoming out of the blackness of death! The red 
blood of heroes making rich the harvest of fruitage 
for all time! 

Redemption from rum, emancipation of the soul 
from its awful slavery, is a plant that has been grow¬ 
ing through the millenniums and is now bursting into 
bloom. Benevolence, the white blossom of beauty, 
is everywhere seen on battlefields and among suffer¬ 
ing peoples. Woman, long in the bondage of bigotry, 
prejudice and tyranny, is today standing alongside 
her brothers as their equal in rights, in mind, skill 
and strength, to do and to dare in the battle of life. 
The cause of world-wide missionary evangelism has 
awakened out of sleep, marshaling her forces for 
the redemption of the race. 

Educational institutions are feeling the thrill 
of this onward movement. What are these wounds 
in the hands of Christian men? Those which will 
be for the redemption of liberty and the spread 
of Christ’s kingdom. When the terrible devastation 
of war is past, “instead of the thorn shall come 
up the fir tree, instead of the briar shall come up 
the myrtle tree, for ye shall be led forth with peace; 







220 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


the mountains and the hills shall break forth before 
you into singing and all the trees of the field shall 
clap their hands for joy.” Thus the Almighty will 
make the wrath of men to praise Him, and the 
immortal spirits of those whose cold faces and 
precious bodies are in the furrows of the trenches 
in nameless graves will cry out for the joy of this 
victory: “We endured the cross and despised the 
shame, that the glory of eternal triumph might be 
ours and the world’s.” 


THE VISION OF NATIONS 

Deut. 32: 1, 3, 4. 

“Give ear, 0 ye heavens. 

Hear 0 earth, the words of my mouth. 

I will publish the name of the Lord; 

Ascribe greatness unto our God. 

He is the rock, His work is perfect. 

Just and right is He, a God of truth.” 

Moses’ final writing was a heavenly inspired song. 
It reminded Israel, after his departure, of the way 
God had led them, and of the unchangeable prin¬ 
ciples of truth and justice, the supremacy of law, 
and obedience to the Law-Giver and Life-Giver. 

Almighty God is here pictured as the moral ruler 
of the universe, with all nations of the earth subject 
to His will. This song was no doubt a portion of the 
inspiration in the hearts of the Pilgrim fathers who 
founded our Republic on the Rock of Ages, proclaim¬ 
ing liberty, freedom, equality and inalienable rights 
to all the people. 

Nations who forget God and their true relation¬ 
ship to each other perish in war or crumble early in 
the dust of centuries. 

No nation can safely become neutral regarding the 
great moral principles of Holy Scripture. Some have 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 221 


in the past asserted that there is no God but nature, 
no future beyond death, while others have said, 
“Might is right”; that neither God, man nor the devil 
have any individual personality or accountability. 
Meroz was cursed not for aiding the enemy directly, 
but because he did not come up to the help of the 
Lord against the mighty. The fig tree was blasted, 
not because it was baneful, but because it was 
barren. 

The nations of wider vision behold, as Moses did, 
beyond the narrow horizon of the present earthly 
Canaan, out into the infinite spaces, an everlasting 
country. If the pillar of fire and cloud of the personal 
presence of God is followed, we shall lead other na¬ 
tions out of the hell of war, of bigotry, superstition 
and paganism, into the uplands of enlightenment and 
universal peace. 

SET UP THE BANNERS 

What would an army be without banners or badges 
or uniforms? David, the soldier, exclaimed, “Thou 
hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it 
may be displayed because of the truth. . . . And in 
the name of our God we will set up our banners.” 
“Ye are My witnesses,” said Jesus. “Ye are the 
light of the world,” not merely reflectors, but per¬ 
sonal illuminators. Your light, shut up under a 
bushel, needs air. The candle of the Lord goes out 
unless you display its shining. Every Christian 
soldier should lift up the blood-stained banner of 
the Cross and wave the flag of glory before all man¬ 
kind. 

When one is bold and fearless the battle is half 
won. If skeptics and infidels courageously tell of 
their unbelief, how much more should we exclaim, 
“I know in whom I have believed!” If inventors do 
not hide their discoveries, but tell the world the 
story of God’s power in nature, shall Christians, who 




222 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


have beheld wonders in the spiritual world far above 
nature, padlock their lips and smother the truth as 
it is in Jesus? A witness can only tell what he 
knows. The things we have seen and heard and 
felt, declare we unto you. Paul often fired the 
columbiad of his conversion upon his audiences. It 
was fact on fire, burning into the hearts of men! 

Revivals are promoted by each convert telling 
others of the power of Christ to save, both to indi¬ 
vidual friends and in the public congregation. We 
must be witnesses of Christ, of Himself personally, 
of His words, of His works, of His resurrection, and 
saving power, telling the world He is the Way, the 
Truth, and the Life; that there is none other Name 
whereby they may be saved. Where there is no wit¬ 
nessing in the church, the glory has departed. Spiri¬ 
tual emptiness cannot testify about God’s fulness. 


THE SUPREME HOUR OF HISTORY 

We are living in a period of war the most awful 
and eventful in the history of mankind. Our coun¬ 
try has taken her place in the great conflict, and 
Americans are living in hope of a victory that will 
assure peace hereafter. Wealth, suffering, misery, 
devastation—life itself—may be the cost, but the 
victory of a righteous peace will make all mankind 
satisfied. It will be a glorious climax to milleniums 
of struggles. If it overthrows thrones and establishes 
the rights of the common people, it will be the 
achievement of the ages. If it breaks down the 
barriers of division between churches in the great 
family of God, making them a unit before all the 
forces of evil, instead of battling against each other, 
our Lord’s prayer will be answered, “that they all 
may be one.” 

If the war shall inspire the youth of the world 
to live for high principles instead of pleasure, for 
grand endeavor instead of ease, for righteousness 





Me dilations for the Quiet Hour 223 


instead of ruin, for others rather than self, then the 
young manhood of our nation will find its soul and 
come out of the furnace of war without the smell 
of evil upon its garments. In the way of the Cross, 
we do not throw ourselves away. We lose life to 
save it. Give yourself away and return to yourself, 
enriched, redeemed, glorious! 

What a privilege, then, to live in this supreme 
crisis of all history, to help prepare the way of the 
Lord for His universal reign of righteousness among 
all kindreds, peoples and tongues. After the strug¬ 
gle there will be a resurrection of principle. Al¬ 
ready hearts are burning anew with the truth of 
heaven and the hope of evil’s overthrow. They know 
that “God is still in His world,” and that out of this 
crucifixion of the nations will arise the spirit of 
Christian liberty. May we choose the way to the 
heights through suffering. 


THE BLESSEDNESS OF GIVING 

Our country has for many years grown rich in 
material prosperity. Those envious of our financial 
success have styled us “money-getters” and “money- 
lovers.” Without riches there could he no giving. 
Consecrated wealth, therefore, like talents of mind, 
body and soul, contributes to the happiness and de¬ 
velopment of mankind. 

Receiving and giving are like an endless circle, 
coming in and going out, blessing everywhere in its 
flow. It is like the nerves of sensation, receiving 
wonders from the outer world, and nerves of mo¬ 
tion, reciprocating by sending forth thoughts, feel¬ 
ings, physical powers and affections. If the outer 
flow is intercepted by covetousness, the soul be¬ 
comes a Dead Sea where no living thing sur¬ 
vives. 

God never hoards. He gives worlds of beauty, 
lives of joy, hearts of love, angels of mercy, man- 





224 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


sions of splendor, while immortality is the golden 
circle on which these pearls are strung. Our 
Father’s child of nature is a great river. Behold the 
grandeur of her mountains, the majesty of her 
oceans, the sublimity of her storms, the beauty of 
her sunsets, flowers and forests! She gives her 
strength to the seed for the harvest, her sun and air 
for the growth of the blade. She gives her fruits 
and the gems of her bosom to whomsoever will. 
Man is the only being who seeks to break the in¬ 
finite law. He becomes a monstrosity by hoarding 
for self, by hating instead of loving, and by get¬ 
ting rather than giving. 

Every soul is poor till it gives itself away. Abra¬ 
ham never fully possessed his son Isaac till he had 
given him up to God. Is it not so with millions to¬ 
day who are giving their hearts’ blood to redeem 
human liberty from horrible oppression? Will not 
their souls and their sons be far more precious and 
noble after the victory, and if we have to go to the 
heavenly mansions to find them, will not that meet¬ 
ing be indescribably blessed? Has not our own man¬ 
hood grown taller, purer and richer by our sur¬ 
render? Is not God’s Providence bringing the angels 
out of the marble of our hearts? 

The earth once gave her darkness up when God 
said, “Let there be light.” Our giving is only open¬ 
ing our windows wider toward the heavenly radi¬ 
ance. Giving transforms the giver and the re¬ 
ceiver; withholding makes man a blot on God’s 
book of life. 


THE SOUL’S ANCHOR 

Earth would be joyless without the soul bright¬ 
ness of hope. Hope is the angel cheering us when 
burdened, tried, persecuted and helpless. Hope sus¬ 
tains the soldier on the battlefield, the sailor on 
the ocean, the prisoner in the cell. Hope in the 
promises of men is often groundless and blasted, but 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 225 


hope in God, in His Word and in His Son Jesus 
Christ, rests upon the enduring Rock of Ages. If 
our Lord were still reposing in a Syrian tomb, our 
hope would be vain; but He is risen, He is the Res¬ 
urrection and the Life; because Christ lives, we shall 
live also. He is the living Christ, and ours is the 
living hope. There are many dead hopes in the 
world, but there is One that is alive forever more. 

Hope in God and you will praise Him with a joy¬ 
ful heart. The object of hope is victory over sin, 
death, hell and the grave, and the possession of the 
heavenly inheritance. A worldly life cannot inspire 
such hope. The righteous only have hope in His 
death. Hope cannot be bought with wealth, influ¬ 
ence or power. It is a free gift unto all men who 
will have Christ in them, the hope of glory. 

The values of this soul condition of hopefulness 
are unaffected by vicissitudes, seasons or times. It 
is an anchor to the soul, grasping the everlasting 
foundations of eternity. It is the powerful engine 
of life, drawing the train of treasures toward the 
city of God. He gives His children the blessed hope, 
which beholds with unspeakable expectation the dis¬ 
tant glory reserved in heaven for you. While jour¬ 
neying onward, we are kept by the power of God 
until we reach the eternal home. A banker once said 
to his faithful clerk, “I have given you ten thou¬ 
sand dollars in my will. I have also decided to pay 
you the interest, six hundred dollars, during each 
year of my life. That will help keep you until you 
enter upon the inheritance.” Christ has made us 
heirs of an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled and 
that fadeth not away, reserved for us, who are kept 
by the power of God through faith unto salvation. 
His keeping power is as essential as the glorious 
possession. 





226 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Luke 12 : 50. “I have a baptism to be baptized 
with.” Abraham Lincoln faced his baptism of suf¬ 
fering with a heroism like that of his Lord. He 
endured his Gethsemane of struggle pressed down 
under the weight of a nation’s woe. He drank the 
cup of calumny to its dregs. He was acquainted with 
grief, as battle after battle went against the Union, 
often crying out in defeat, “0 God, what will the 
country say!” When he smiled, it was to keep from 
crying. 

He could not be hid; he must become the leader 
of the nation, the emancipator of a race. Himself he 
could not save; his work was to save others. His 
martyrdom shed a light over the world like a re¬ 
flection from Calvary. His soul was open to the 
Infinite; he lived in the realm of revelations. His 
dreams were angelic visits of inspiration; his visions 
were of the Lord, high and lifted up; he saw his 
country could not remain half slave and half free; 
that a house divided could not stand. He felt he 
was called of God to strike off the chains of slav¬ 
ery and let the captives go free. Once he remarked 
to a company of visitors, “Keep praying and I will 
keep fighting.” 

Lincoln had measureless tenderness for the masses 
of men. He felt the pulsations of millions of troubled 
hearts throbbing against his own noble manhood. 
He was a heroic reformer long before he became 
President and closed a temperance address in 1842 
with these eloquent words: “And when the victory 
shall be complete—when there shall be neither a 
slave nor a drunkard on the earth—how proud the 
title of that land which may claim to be the 
birthplace and the cradle of both these revolutions 
that shall have ended in victory. Glorious consum¬ 
mation! Hail, fall of Fury! Reign of Reason, all 
hail!” 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 227 


VICTORY THROUGH DEFEAT 

Isa. 53 : 11. “He shall see of the travail of his 
soul and be satisfied.” The mightiest victories have 
often followed the greatest defeats. Hannibal was 
at last conquered by the Fabian policy of carefully 
retreating before the Carthaginian army. George 
Washington, crossing the East River after the 
disastrous battle of Long Island and then retreat¬ 
ing through New Jersey and to Valley Forge, insured 
the final Revolutionary victory. 

It is not how a man comports himself after his vic¬ 
tory, but how he bears defeat, that reveals his genius 
and nobility of manhood. Unyielding allegiance to 
the truth and no compromise with the enemy wins 
in the end. 

General Grant replied to the question, “Do you 
think you are going to take Richmond?” by saying 
“No, I don’t think—I know we will take Richmond.” 
General Garfield exclaimed to the New York City 
mob, “Fellow citizens, clouds and darkness are round 
about Him; justice and judgment are the habitation 
of His throne. God reigns and the government at 
Washington still lives.” The vast multitude was 
transformed by such absolute faith in Almighty God 
when Abraham Lincoln, our leader, lay in his coffin. 

Savonarola once said, “Do you ask me in general 
what will be the end of the conflict? I answer, Vic¬ 
tory. But if you ask me in particular, I answer, 
death.” Today reformers receive the jeers, tomorrow 
the cheers, of mankind. Cannonaded today; canon¬ 
ized tomorrow. It was so on Calvary. Jesus ex¬ 
claimed to His disciples, “Be of good cheer; I have 
overcome the world. I see the travail of my soul and 
am satisfied.” And yet Gethsemane was at His feet; 
the mob on their way, the trial being prepared, the 
cross on the horizon, the sepulcher opening. Did He 
not behold that He was Victor over death, hell and 
the grave? Let the ages answer and tell what His 





228 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


blood bought, what His wounds paid, what His ris¬ 
ing meant to humanity. He overcame the world 
while falling in apparent defeat on Calvary. 


EQUAL TO OPPORTUNITY 

Rev. 3 : 8. “Behold, I have set before thee on open 
door, and no man can shut it.” Opportunity is a 
mighty word for the youth of America. The rise of 
poor boys to the highest position in the gift of the 
nation was seen in the lives of our three assassin¬ 
ated Presidents, Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley. 
No young man of our land today meets with great¬ 
er difficulties than these heroes overcame. A pine 
knot in a log cabin was their light for study; 
the towpath of the canal, ragged and barefooted, 
they journeyed; with little education, of humble par¬ 
entage, they achieved wonderful distinction, making 
all their powers available to activity because they 
had been trained by adversity. Their own struggle 
with poverty excited a sympathy with toilers that 
made them one with the people. 

Being the benefactors of their countrymen, they 
are forever embalmed in the affections of mankind, 
influencing all with their lives and principles. They 
had sensibility of soul, acuteness of mind and 
warmth of heart, making them accessible to all 
classes of people. 

They did not assume high dignity, but exclaiming, 
“I am nothing, truth is everything,” “God has a 
place and work for me and I am ready,” they prayed 
the hymn, 

“Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah!” 

Whoever was for the Wrong, they were for the 
Right, and Right was Might, for God is God. An 
unseen eye guided them; an invisible hand led them 
till heaven’s portals opened to their early vision. 
One said, “I have faced death before and I am not 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 229 


afraid to meet him now.” Another said, “Nearer, 
my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee.” The world was 
still when they were borne to their last resting- 
places; the shots that killed them were the expiring 
blows of some lost cause, giving them immortal en¬ 
thronement. 


TO BE ON THE LORD’S SIDE 

It is well today to remember the words of Abraham 
Lincoln when he said, “I do not ask the Lord to 
be on our side, but I do pray that we may be on the 
Lord's side.” Both sides may pray in war, but only 
one side can be right. The side that begins a war of 
aggression is in the wrong and must confess that 
wrong before it can stand on the side of right. When 
all are willing to be on the Lord’s side, the war will 
cease. Right, instead of might, will prevail, and the 
spirit of brotherhood will be born on the ruins of 
the great conflict. 

Men ask for victory amiss when they would con¬ 
sume the triumph upon their own lusts of gain and 
pride. Prayer must be according to the will of God, 
not prompted by our own selfish desires. God’s will 
is right; His ways and thoughts are higher than 
ours. Christ came to do the will of Him that sent 
Him, not to please Himself nor to seek His own 
glory, but the glory of the Father God. 

Unholy ambition wrecks instead of saving the 
world, seeking to make its own kingdom supreme 
rather than the kingdom of God. Our Lord came to 
bear witness to the truth, to save a race from, the 
deadly disease of sin. Rulers of empire often rise 
upon the ruins of weaker peoples, building a throne 
on the foundation of human skulls. They turn an 
Eden of peace into a wilderness of war. 

It is said that there are only two great beings in 
the universe, God and the soul. When trouble comes, 
the soul seeks shelter under the shadow of the 





230 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


wings of the Almighty, and there, offering up his 
prayers, rests in perfect security. To be on the 
Lord’s side is to be in the ark of safety. 


THE LOYE OF FREEDOM 

Heb. 6 : 12. “Be ye followers of them who through 
faith and patience inherit the promises.” It is well 
to follow our great leaders as they follow Christ. 
Christianity incarnated and illustrated in personality 
is far more fascinating than all abstract creeds or 
doctrines. America’s great Christian Presidents 
have exerted a wide influence upon the world. They 
have been the people’s representatives, to whom we 
have looked for guidance, who have grown stronger 
and grander by translation into the life eternal. 

Abraham Lincoln was a shepherd of humanity. He 
led a people up from the wilderness of slavery to¬ 
ward the fruitful Canaan of liberty, equality and in¬ 
dependence. His name is a psalm of praise the 
world around, a name that stands for patriotism, 
duty, justice and truth. 

We have been fighting to make the new day he 
ushered in for America as wide as the world. His 
spirit animates our country today as we seek to 
make freedom supreme and to banish wrong and op¬ 
pression to oblivion. He had the spirit of his divine 
Master, showing mercy and charity toward enemies, 
justice for the incorrigible, and giving universal 
peace to the world. 

A nation that loses liberty loses everything in this 
world. As Christ has made sure freedom of the soul 
from sin, so the nation should stand for freedom of 
thought, action and the possession of rights. History 
has been a struggle against the rule of tyrannical, 
one-man power. We are now seeing the dawn of a 
new day, in which bondage will be broken forever 
and loving and serving one another may become the 




Meditations for the Quiet Hour 231 


motto for the “league of nations” that will compel 
the peace of the world. 


THE GREAT CHOICE 

Matt. 6 : 24. “No man can serve two masters.” 
“Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.” The wise man 
builds upon a rock; the foolish upon the sand. They 
that be wise shall shine with the glory of God, 
brighter than the stars. The foolish shine with the 
glory of gold. The wise enter the narrow life; the 
foolish, the broad way to death. The wise take no 
anxious thought for the morrow; the foolish make 
every provision for earthly things. 

There can be no real compromise between good 
and evil; no third or neutral position regarding 
moral questions. He that is not for Christ is against 
Him. Every one must choose as Moses did, who 
chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of 
God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. 
Joshua cried out, “Choose you this day whom ye 
will serve,” and Elijah exclaimed, “How long halt 
ye between two opinions?” We must decide which 
road we will take, up the rugged Hill Difficulty or 
down the gilded path to ruin. If we follow Him 
whose footsteps were stained with blood, up Cal¬ 
vary, we shall reach the realms of light; while away 
downward is the night that knows no morning. “For 
what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world 
and lose his own soul?” 

Abraham Lincoln said regarding slavery, “A house 
divided against itself cannot stand; it will become 
all the one thing or all the other. This govern¬ 
ment cannot endure half slave and half free.” 
Neither can an individual morally occupy such an 
anomalous position; he must choose for God or 
Satan, holiness or sinfulness, forever and ever. 





232 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


VICTORY IN GOD 

Isa. 28 : 20. “For the bed is shorter than that a 
man can stretch himself on it; and the covering 
narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.” Men 
who plan for themselves, independently of God, find 
at the last only the narrowness of the grave, where 
the eulogy is engraved on the monument, “Here he 
lies.” The bed of his death is too short to rest upon 
and the covering of self too narrow for the wrap¬ 
ping of his soul. In what a great contrast is God’s 
benevolent providence compared with man’s short¬ 
sightedness and selfishness! 

When we trust God, a speck expands into a star. 
When one makes a covenant with death and an 
agreement with hell, the light of the soul dies, and 
the refuge of lies is swept away. 

Israel had an alliance with both Assyria and 
Egypt, and, as some nations do to-day, was playing 
one against the other, finally losing both. Ephraim 
erred through strong drink, so that the prophet ex¬ 
claimed, “Woe to the drunkards of Ephraim, who are 
swallowed up of wine, who shall be trodden under 
feet.” Then Isaiah pleads that all should trust in 
the strong and mighty God, who is a sure foundation, 
so that he who believeth shall not be ashamed. 

The world of men and nations never will find rest 
and victory outside of the heavenly Father. Soul 
rest cometh not from couches of human build nor 
national peace from diplomacy. God is in the world 
of history; He alone can give the peace of security 
and liberty. Uneasy lies the head of him who does 
not wear the crown of righteousness. All the great 
of earth come to know at the last that God and one 
man are a majority. 

Are we building on the Rock of Ages or on the 
sands of time? What a vital question for one who 
is to be a householder among immortals? Christ is 
the only sure foundation stone for mansions to rest 
upon in the streets of the celestial city. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 233 


FRIEND OF THE OPPRESSED 

Philemon 10. “I beseech Thee for my son Onesi- 
mus, whom I haye begotten in my bonds.” 17. “Re¬ 
ceive him as myself.” Paul pleads that a runaway 
slave may be received by his master as a brother 
beloved, yea, even as Philemon would receive the 
apostle Paul himself. Paul believed that all men 
were of one blood, the offspring of the Almighty, 
and were all made one in Christ Jesus. Clarkson, 
the abolitionist, was once asked, “Are you not afraid 
of neglecting your own soul amid your constant la¬ 
bors for the negro?” He replied, “I leave God to 
take care of my soul while I do His work.” 

The grandest acts of the heroes of the past have 
been their efforts for the freedom of the enslaved. 
Freedom is one of the most precious words in human 
language, national freedom and freedom in the king¬ 
dom of Jesus Christ. This is the watchword of the 
hour. 

Abraham Lincoln’s spirit is to-day the flaming 
torch of Liberty Enlightening the World, and his 
present successor is spreading the glorious flame of 
freedom among all the nations of the world. 

It is a matter of history that on the evening of 
September 22, 1862, President Lincoln sat with the 
Proclamation of Emancipation before him, all ready 
for his signature. His whole life had been devoted 
to freedom. In his young manhood, while attend¬ 
ing an auction of slaves in New Orleans, he said to 
himself, “If I ever have a chance to hit that thing, I 
will hit it hard.” Now the opportunity to strike off 
the fetters of four million slaves was before him. 
Through the long hours of a sleepless night he hesi¬ 
tated, saying, “Is this the hour? Is this the best 
way to freedom? Will it help the Union cause? Is 
it God’s will?” At last, as the morning was break¬ 
ing, he wrote on that immortal document, “Abra¬ 
ham Lincoln.” All our martyred President ever 
wished to know was, “Is this the will of God and 





234 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


the hour to act?” It would not have changed his 
decision if he had known that the bullet of an as¬ 
sassin would send him to his death. To him dying 
was glorious after such an act of humanity. 


THE GREAT IDEAL 

Singleness of aim is the secret of victory. A 
thousand duties there may be, yet one single ambi¬ 
tion wins the prize, just as focusing the rays of the 
sun brings the power. The concentration of forces 
at a given point decides the destiny of armies. A 
single individual absorbed by one high ideal has 
changed the face of the world. Livingstone exclaimed 
“This one thing I do! I will open the door of a 
great future for Africa.” Morrison did the same 
for China; Judson for Burma; Luther for Protestant¬ 
ism. Great discoverers have been equally men of 
one purpose. To do one thing completely is to do 
all things. Put your foot upon the first rung of the 
ladder and never stop climbing. 

Europe is beginning to understand the attitude of 
America in the war. Statesmen, as well as the com¬ 
mon people, are being impressed with the ideal 
which this nation has kept steadily in view. “The 
American army is entering into action in Prance,” 
said Albert Thomas, former Minister of Munitions, 
“and its part will be a growing one. Nevertheless, 
America has a greater role than that of its army. . . 
President Wilson can become not only the leader of 
American democracy, but the leader of a world de¬ 
mocracy.” 

Our nation must present a solid front to win the 
war. We must be the UNITED States—divided we 
fall. The lukewarm, listless and indifferent impede 
progress. The fault-finders and critical partisans 
waste precious time and achieve nothing. Absolute 
devotion to the ideals of the nation are essential to 
victory. Our soldier boys have one ruling idea: they 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 235 


know they are going into the path of danger; but 
they are willing to suffer the loss of all things for 
the enthronement of liberty throughout the world. 
It is thus the youth of America are pressing for¬ 
ward toward the mark, to win universal harmony 
among the nations. 


AMERICA MEANS THE WORLD 

1 Kings 17 : 13. “Make me therefore a little cake 
first.” These are the words of Elijah to the woman 
of Zarephath, who had only a handful of meal in a 
barrel and a little oil in a cruse. Elijah was the 
ambassador of Almighty God. He had a special mis¬ 
sion to Israel. If his life was saved, he could com¬ 
plete that mission. God takes care of those who 
stand true to His messengers. There are two hun¬ 
dred thousand ministers in the United States. They 
are the leaders in the army of the Lord. Victory 
will more surely come if we stand faithfully by them. 

If America is Christianized, the world will be 
evangelized. Make the little cake first for home mis¬ 
sions in great cities if you would have foreign mis¬ 
sions flourish everywhere. The base of supplies 
must be protected if the army is to be sustained. 
One must have riches before he can become benevo¬ 
lent. He must possess brains in order to think; 
strength before he can labor. Self-protection is the 
first law of nature. He who protects his family from 
harm is a patriot to the nation, for a nation is but 
an aggregation of families. He who defends the 
home, the school, and the nation, if need be, by force, 
acts as Almighty God does in the realm of His 
eternal kingdom. 

Paul said “I magnify my office”; that is, my min¬ 
istry. Elijah was called to the brook. He went, 
though it looked like a poor place for support. When 
the brook became dry, he was called to Zarephath, a 
still harder outlook for a living. If he had been 






236 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


looking for a soft, easy charge, how he would have 
murmured to the Bishop. Elijah knew that the 
heavenly Father made His appointments, though he 
took cheerfully the hardest places in the kingdom. 
Like Paul, he endured hardships and was able to ac¬ 
complish great achievements, strengthened by the 
Almighty arm. 


“IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME 99 

Owing to business cares, pleasures and prosperity, 
how often one forgets. Memorials help to remember. 
The Lincoln Roadway, the Memorial Temple, and 
many monuments help us to remember and emulate 
the nobility of Abraham Lincoln. On the Fourth of 
July we celebrate American liberty. Birthdays tell 
us of our heroes and of the flight of the years. 
Christmas speaks of the coming of Christ. Thanks¬ 
giving is the hour of praise; Easter, the hope of 
immortals, while the Lord’s Supper is the memory 
feast of the Christ. In this celebration we see our 
Redeemer on Calvary dying for men. It is not only 
an historic memory but one full of hopefulness of 
the final union of the family of God on earth and in 
heaven. It is therefore a communion with saints 
and angels, as well as with our friends on earth 
around this festive board. 

The holy supper is a monument of Christ’s di¬ 
vinity. It speaks of His life, teachings, death, resur¬ 
rection, ascension and kingly reign in glory. It is 
also a fortress of defense against a skeptical world; 
it binds with bands of love the hearts of all Chris¬ 
tians together. Here all are equal, rich and poor, 
high and low, all one in Christ Jesus. 

As Americans do not forget Bunker Hill and 
Yorktown and the hand-shaking of the North and 
South at Gettysburg, so the Christian world holds 
festival together around the table of its Lord, re¬ 
membering Him who gave Himself for lost men. 








Meditations for the Quiet Hour 23 7 


While Christ the Bridegroom is away preparing a 
residence for His bride, He longs to be re¬ 
membered until He can say “Come, ye blessed; all 
things are now ready to celebrate the marriage sup¬ 
per of the Lamb.” 





UUiitattmta Mpmt Wlsttllmtcm ufljemea 


* 

THE SOURCE OF POWER 

Job 26 : 7. “He hangeth the earth upon nothing.” 
So far as we can see, the planets have no support 
or guidance. But the natural eye cannot see gravi¬ 
tation, electricity or the forces of the supernatural. 
God’s Word, however, which is quick and powerful, 
asserts that all power belongeth unto Him. He is 
the preserver as well as the creator of all things. 
Unbelief sees no visible support in the lives of 
God’s children. There is no personal, omnipresent 
Protector, but the eye of faith sees God everywhere. 

In the natural world, morning and night never 
fail; none of the moving spheres are ever a second 
behind time; therefore, in the spiritual realm, we 
should enjoy similar confidence in the rising Sun of 
righteousness, in the Star of Bethlehem, in the pro¬ 
tection of Providence. 

In hours of desolation and loss, when one seems to 
be left alone, he finds himself under the shadow of 
the sheltering wings of the Almighty, and though 
we perceive only parts of His ways, yet we do see 
that He was back of the beginning and is beyond the 
ending of time. 

The millions suffering and dying in the world war 
find comfort and hope looking forward to where 
“they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, 
where all tears are wiped away and no night comes, 
neither sorrow nor crying, nor pain nor death.” How 
delightful to know that after momentary afflictions 
comes the eternal weight of glory. When humanity 

238 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 239 


seems to be rushing to ruin without divine guid¬ 
ance, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee,” is 
a wonderful promise. 

Oh, the blessedness of him who trusteth in the 
Lord! He is a branch of the living Vine, a tree 
planted beside the Tree of Life, where living waters 
flow. The souls that live and move seeing the In¬ 
visible, do not hang upon nothing. They are 
clasped in the arms of Him who maketh the clouds 
His chariot and guideth the forces of the universe 
with His fingers. 

CUT DOWN IN YOUTH 

Ps. 102 : 24. “I said, 0 my God, take me not 
away in the midst of my days.” Every young sol¬ 
dier in the world war can well pray that prayer. Is 
it not natural to long to live till the harvest time 
of life, till the ripened grain is ready to be gath¬ 
ered into the garner? How unnatural for the sun 
to go down in the morning; how we long to jour¬ 
ney till the evening time when we wrap the drapery 
of our couch about us and awake in God’s eternal 
morning! Here we behold one of the cruelties of 
the awful demon War. What an appetite the mon¬ 
ster has for the youth of the land who are just 
stepping across the threshhold of being! Millions 
of throbbing hearts, budding hopes, bright eyes 
and rosy faces have failed to satisfy the terrible 
hunger of the maw of war. Other millions are 
crowding in where these have disappeared, down 
his hellish throat. 

O War! What a waste of riches is drunk up in 
thine awful maelstrom! Not of gold only, but of 
golden manhood. Would that war itself could per¬ 
ish as the beast dieth rather than the noble, heroic 
young men. 

One consoling thought we have; life is not in 
years, but deeds; one may be old and yet unpre- 


v 





240 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


pared to change worlds. If for you to live is 
Christ, to die at any time is gain, for you enter 
sooner the broader field and grander opportunities 
of the endless future, and are shielded from the 
temptations and trials of time. Remember that 
your divine Captain finished His work while in 
young manhood, and that you are following Him up 
your Calvary of self-sacrifice for your country and 
your God. 


THE MARTYR SPIRIT 

Dan. 3 : 18. “But if not, be it known unto thee, 0 
king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship 
the golden image which thou hast set up.” Every 
true follower of Christ has the martyr spirit. He 
does not seek to redeem his life with the loss of 
his integrity. The convictions of these Hebrew he¬ 
roes had reached permanency; not a nerve trem¬ 
bled in face of the fiery furnace. 

Are there not other fires as hot as the Baby¬ 
lonian burnings? Job in suffering could say, 
“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” 
Paul, before the bloody ax, exclaimed, “I am ready 
to be offered; I have fought a good fight.” Jesus 
warned His disciples not to be afraid of them that 
kill the body. 

The shield of faith protects every one as it did 
these Hebrew martyrs. The form of the Fourth is 
with you in every fiery crucible, which only burns 
away the bonds and purify the spirit. Are not 
many persons silent in the presence of moral evil 
who should speak? But they fear to offend the 
king, the party, the social customs, the Babylonian 
usages. They compromise until influence becomes 
paralyzed. 

“I will take away your property,” said the 
judge to Cyprian of Carthage. “You cannot,” he 
replied, “for my treasure is in heaven ” “Then 






Meditations for the Quiet Hour 241 


I will banish you.” “Yon cannot, for I can go 
nowhere where Christ is not with me.” “Then I 
will take your life.” “You cannot, for my life is 
hid with Christ in God.” 

Huss died for the truth; Luther lived for the 
truth. Let God decide which it will be for you. 
Some trust in princes, in powers of state, but we 
will trust in the God of love. He will deliver us. 
If we suffer with Him, we shall reign with Him in 
glory. 


FALSE GODS 

Ex. 20 : 3. “Thou shalt have no other gods be¬ 
fore Me.” All mankind dwells either on the low 
plains of materialism or on the higher plateau of 
the spiritual. The one living and true God is wor¬ 
shiped and obeyed by all who live the ideal spirit¬ 
ual life. The multitude which has no higher aim 
than ease and success in this present time creates 
gods of its own liking. God in Christ with His Ten 
Commandments is too exacting for many in busi¬ 
ness life and amid the lustful pleasure and propen¬ 
sities of the natural man. 

One builds a little toy god out of culture. He 
looks like a king on the chessboard of the game of 
life. Another, out of fashion, makes a pretty queen 
god. Millions follow in her train, but soon she 
vanishes like , a rainbow. Then there are knights 
of chivalry, fighting for their own castles, human 
gods, who fall like Dagon at the first touch of the 
finger of death. There are a multitude of little 
Billiken pawns, of social custom and selfish ser¬ 
vice, second-hand gods, made of left-over materials, 
from the scrap-heaps of blurred brains, black 
hearts and visionary conceptions. 

Every family in heathen or civilized countries 
which rejects the God of the universe has gods of 
its own manufacture, as a substitute for the In- 




242 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


finite. Oh that men would serve and worship the 
Creator rather than the creature! Then they would 
rise evermore, “nearer, my God to Thee," instead 
of following a forlorn hope into the den of Giant 
Despair, where passions revel and hate burns. 


FEAR IS LACK OF FAITH 

Mark 4 : 40. “And He said unto them, Why are 
ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith V 9 
The disciples should have known that He who 
keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 
The Lord is thy keeper. When He seems asleep, 
like Jesus in the boat, He is with us just the same, 
never leaving us alone. We need not say, like the 
sisters at Bethany, “If Thou hadst been here, our 
brother had not died." He is always here, nearer 
in mighty storms and rolling billows, if faith 
could only take the place of fear. Our Lord Him¬ 
self was ever calm in the midst of His greatest 
trials. How we dishonor Him when we fail to 
trust Him. How He loves to have us, like a con¬ 
fiding child, nestle in His arms, where trouble does 
not trouble and where peace prevails! 

Elihu Burritt tells a story of a man driving cat¬ 
tle through a long, dark wooden tunnel. Some 
knots in the planks had dropped out, through 
which the sun made bars of light. The cattle shied 
at these rays; they leaped over them and made a 
terrible hurdle race of it, coming out at the other 
end covered with foam and blood. How much 
wiser are we, often crossing bridges that never 
appear! Do we not shy at heaven’s light, fearing 
we could not endure its splendors? Should we not 
trust while passing through dark providences and 
be glad for the little light flashing through, instead 
of being like animals and children, full of fear? 
The fearful and the unbelieving will finally be 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 243 


cast away from the divine presence, for fear is a 
kind of unbelief which brings on the very evil 
which we fear. 

FIRE IN THE SOUL 

I Kings 18 : 24. “The God that answereth by fire.” 
When the prophets of Baal failed to bring the fire 
down to consume their sacrifice after an all-day 
struggle, then Elijah called upon God in only a mo¬ 
mentary supplication. Immediately the fire fell and 
all the people cried, “The Lord, He is God!” Elijah 
was only one wandering evangelist besides the four 
hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. But standing 
true in this hour of great exigency, when the whole 
kingdom of Israel seemed at stake, he won a victory 
that has been transmitted to all the ages. Luther, a 
lone preacher before the powers of Rome and Aus¬ 
tria, was no greater hero than this prophet of God. 
One man with God has always been a majority, and 
fire from heaven in Old Testament times was always 
proof of the one eternal God. 

When the soul feels the flame of God’s Spirit burn¬ 
ing up the offering of consecration, the baseness of 
evil, purifying and cleansing away all iniquity, how 
natural to cry out, “The Lord, He is God!” His fire 
makes the red, like crimson, whiter than the snow, 
leaving nothing of the old man of sin, but making 
all new in Christ Jesus. Even the water and rocks 
yield to fire as the blackest sins yield to purifying 
love, which burns up the dross of base desire and 
makes the mountains flow. A pulpit on fire with the 
truth burns its way into the hardest hearts. Even 
our Lord’s mild words, in the minds of the Emmaus 
disciples, made their hearts burn within them as He 
talked with them by the way. Pentecostal tongues of 
fire today would set the world aflame with divine 
power instead of the lurid burnings of war. Every 
one may find the fire of God in a moment of conse- 





244 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


cration. The surrendered man touches the flaming 
battery and can do all things through strength 
divine. Oh for the fire that touched Isaiah’s lips, that 
attracted Moses to its burnings and flamed in bap¬ 
tisms on Pentecostal morning! 


THE WORK OF OUR HAKDS 

Ps. 90 : 17. “Establish thou the work of our hands 
upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou 
it.” How short seems the longest life to the active 
laborer! Plans and purposes increase with years. 
When death knocks at the door, our lives seem so 
incomplete. But the Heavenly Father can establish 
the work of a brief life as a foundation for the eter¬ 
nal building. 

Life’s faithful toil, woven into a character of truth¬ 
fulness, duty and devotion, will be a memorial of 
beauty forever established. Individual righteousness 
makes honest toil immortal. We must begin at the 
beginning to build rightly. God’s kingdom is the 
basis of all future development. His leaven of love 
must permeate all human effort. Then we become 
likest to God, who worketh unceasingly, and to His 
Son, who doeth the works of the Father. 

Christ, the Builder of worlds, worked as a car¬ 
penter for many years, till the hour arrived for the 
greater achievement of the redemption of a race. 
We should follow His example as a dutiful child, 
going to the temple for worship, as a faithful toiler 
with roughened hands and burdened shoulders; but 
we must not forget to go with Him all the way to 
Calvary in our self-sacrificing devotion. Here is the 
hill of highest service. He was first in toil, first in 
suffering, and will be first upon the throne of all 
kingdoms. 

“Where I am, there shall My servant be also.” 
We should never seek to go around Calvary, or to 






Meditations for the Quiet Hour 245 


climb up some other way. His is the only way to 
establish your life of service as a part of His great 
kingdom forever. In Him the transient becomes 
permanent. He will make us to live in the hearts of 
mankind, not for fame or glory, but for the memory 
of goodness and the favor of the Highest. In Him 
ephemeral deeds become immortal—monuments that 
never crumble. 


JOY IN BELIEVING 

Rom. 15 : 13. “Now the God of hope fill you with 
with all joy and peace in believing.’’ Joy and peace 
are the inspirers of hope. The God of hope is He 
who imparts hope by the peace of God and the joy of 
the Lord. Joy is like the rolling waves of the sea 
in majesty and power; peace is like a river in its 
placid tranquility. The one is love in motion; the 
other, love in repose. Faith and hope, like the fleecy 
clouds, rise above these waters to the very heavens 
of attainment. 

Mark Guy Pearse says, “The great sea one day 
looked up at a pure, fleecy cloud in the very bosom 
of the heavens. The sea, sighing, said: ‘It is not 
for me; I could never be like that. But I will try.’ 
And she hurled herself against the rocks, leaping up 
in tall spray which fell back, baffled and beaten. 
At last the sea lay quiet and still, and cried out to 
the sun, ‘Canst thou not help me?’ ’Yes, I can,’ 
said the sun, if thou wilt let me.’ And the sun sent 
down a noiseless ray, warming and loosening the 
water; and lo! the sea knew not how, but cried, ‘I 
am there.’ ” 

Believing is looking up at the Sun of Righteousness 
when all our struggles are o’er. It is letting Him 
shine down upon us and lift us up into His bosom. 

Doubt and despair refuse to look unto Him and be 
saved, while faith flies away, floating triumphantly 
in the heavenly blue, to come down like the cloud in 





246 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


rain upon the thirsty earth. The secret is to let the 
Divine Redeemer raise you out of your sins, your 
fears and failures, giving you a hiding-place among 
the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 

The watchword of religion, of science and discov¬ 
ery should be, “I believe more than I see or know.” 
This is the victory that overcomes the world of sin, 
of ignorance and of undiscovered countries; faith in 
the unseen is the mighty revealer. 


THE POWER THAT CHANGES SORROW TO JOY 

John 16 : 20. “Your sorrow shall be turned into 
joy.” Jesus at the last was a great disappointment 
to His disciples. He was going away when they 
wanted Him to remain. He promised to send the 
Comforter; but Him they did not know and could 
not see, and therefore they did not wish to change 
leaders. They longed for a temporal kingdom at 
Jerusalem, where the disciples could be the chief 
actors in the government. They could not then 
understand what He meant by a spiritual kingdom, 
or about dying on the cross for the world. These 
things, instead of looking expedient, appeared dis¬ 
astrous; but afterward their sorrow was turned into 
joy. Then were the disciples glad when the grave 
could not hold Him, when He came forth glorified 
and triumphant from the grasp of death. When they 
could not find the body in the grave, they found 
Christ in their midst, saying, “Peace be unto you!” 
“Tarry ye in Jerusalem until ye be endued with 
power from on high.” “Go ye into all the world.” 
These once terrified, disappointed disciples surrend¬ 
ered Jesus joyously to the angelic attendants on 
Mount Olivet, from whence He ascended to glory. 
On their way back to Jerusalem, they believed that 
He would come again in brighter glory and bring 
them into His heavenly kingdom. 






Meditations for the Quiet Hour 247 


On the day of Pentecost prayer was changed to 
praise, weakness to power, fear to faith, when they 
were filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 
Should we not consider all our disappointments His 
appointments, working out for our good and His 
glory? 


NEW VIEWS ON OLD TRUTHS 

Eccles. 7 : 10. “Say not thou . . . that former days 
were better than these.” Whether the world is grow¬ 
ing better is one of the great questions of the times. 
Will Christ’s kingdom win the world to Himself in 
the present dispensation or after His second com¬ 
ing? The progress of the past thousands of years 
incline us to the former view. During the past cen¬ 
tury, mighty reforms have been consummated, to 
say nothing of the wonderful discoveries in science, 
art and invention. It is well known that aged per¬ 
sons are inclined to depreciate the present in glori¬ 
fying the past, whereas, should we not forget the 
things that are behind, pressing forward to the more 
glorious possibilities of coming time? 

Should we not use the microscope for the past and 
the telescope for the future? True, the roots of the 
tree of life are in the past, but its branches and 
fruitage are ever growing greater and broader in 
the to-morrow. Christ’s golden kingdom is coming 
as the result of divine power and human cooperation. 
We do not behold improvement in nature, because 
sunlight, air, earth and ocean are already in per¬ 
fection. Music is as beautiful and melodious as when 
first emanating from the Divine One; love is an ele¬ 
mentary essence of His being. But man, having fal¬ 
len from his glorious estate, is rising upward and 
onward toward the country of his nativity. In this 
development we often have new views of old truths, 
the remodeling of some of the grand structures of 
righteousness, making them more ornamental and 
attractive. 






248 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


Israel was unwilling to be remodeled by the Mes¬ 
siah, who came to fulfil the law and the prophets, 
not to destroy them. He presented the old in new 
dress. So the Episcopal Church of England regarded 
John Wesley as an innovator, and Methodism 
thought the same of William Booth and the Salva¬ 
tion Army. Entirely new teaching must be untrue, 
but every development of the old will appear grander 
tomorrow. 


FORGIVENESS OF SINS 

Luke 5 : 23. “Whether it is easier, to say, Thy sins 
be forgiven thee, or to say, Rise up and walk.” All 
the forces of matter and spirit are in God’s hands. 
He who is true in nature, giving day and night, 
summer and winter, heat and cold, will be true in the 
government of His eternal kingdom. 

Nothing whatever is hard to do, with the Infinite 
I AM. Christ proved His power to forgive sin by 
healing the body of the invalid. Physical miracles 
were evidences of His greater spiritual healing. All 
power belongeth unto God. Every work is easy for 
Him. Whether it be easier to say “Let there be 
light,” or to say, “Let there be love,” what He says 
will be done. His promises will be kept. With Him 
there is no shadow of turning. Our anchor upon the 
Rock of Ages always holds; amid all the changes of 
time, He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. 
He can touch the body into health and the soul into 
beauty. He is able to deliver, almighty to save. 

If the sun had ever failed us, we might distrust the 
Son of Righteousness; if nature was ever untrue, 
we might doubt the grace divine. Our Lord could 
not prove that the sins of the paralytic were for¬ 
given, but He could prove that bodily healing lay in 
His power. 

No human physician could have healed the crip¬ 
pled man. Each kind of cure testified to the other 
in the experience of the sick man. The onlookers 






Meditations for the Quiet Hour 249 


might do as they pleased about accepting the ap¬ 
parent fact that Christ was God in man, working 
wonders. They thought it blasphemy for Jesus to 
declare the man forgiven, because they knew that 
only God could forgive sins. They were amazed at 
the bodily healing whether they believed in the 
spiritual transformation or not. 

This God is the God we adore, 

Our faithful unchangeable Friend, 

Whose love is as great as His power, 

And neither knows measure nor end. 


THE CRT OF THE PENITENT HEART 

Luke 18 : 13. “God be merciful to me a sinner.” 
Two men went up into the temple to pray; the 
Pharisee was proud; the publican, humble. One 
trusted in himself; the other in God. One despised 
his fallen fellow-men; the other felt he was the chief 
of sinners. One thanked God he was not an ex¬ 
tortioner, an adulterer, a poor, wretched sinner like 
this publican; while the other cried out the shortest 
but most comprehensive prayer ever uttered: “God 
be merciful to me a sinner.” Only one returned to 
his home from the house of God justified, “for every 
one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he 
that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” 

He who is satisfied with himself, ever repeating 
the egotistical “I,” has only himself for his bless¬ 
ing. But the soul, in the depths of its sinfulness, 
with its knees in the dust of penitence, who hun¬ 
gers and thirsts for the living God, shall be filled 
and satisfied with the fulness of heavenly loving- 
kindness 

Jesus delighted to be styled an associate with pub¬ 
licans and sinners, for He came not to save the 
righteous but to bring sinners to repentance. How 
much better it is to own that we are a race of 





250 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


prodigals, living on husks and hogs, self and sin, 
in the far country, but now are coming home, cry¬ 
ing out, “Be merciful; wash me; cleanse me; re¬ 
new a right spirit within me and cast me not away 
from thy presence, that I may dwell in the Father’s 
house forever.” 


THE MIRACLE OF DIVINE POWER 

Acts 1 : 8. “Ye shaU receive power.” What a dif¬ 
ference between a fence wire and an electric wire! 
One is dead, the other is wonderfully alive. One is 
simply to mark a line of ownership, while the other 
stretches across continents and passes under oceans, 
communicating messages to millions, or flashes its 
light, illuminating cities, moves commerce and ma¬ 
chinery and sends the very tone of the voice thou¬ 
sands of miles. The wires are the same; the dif¬ 
ference lies in their relation to power. Are there 
not too many fence wires around our churches— 
ecclesiastical fences, built to keep from mingling in 
each other’s pastures? If we would lift up the wires 
from formalism and bigotry, so as to connect them 
with the dynamo of God’s power, a world of sinners 
might soon be brought into the Kingdom. 

Is there not wire enough in the fences to reach 
from glory to every sinner on the footstool? Enough 
to illuminate all the dark places of cruelty? Enough 
to thrill mankind with the messages of love and 
mercy? The mere electric wire remains unchanged, 
it being only a pathway for the hot footsteps of the 
lightning, only a dead instrument; while Christian 
men are living, loving, thinking agents, only a “lit¬ 
tle lower than the angels,” conscious of the divine 
magnetism as the holy fire passes through the soul 
to others of our fellows lost in sin. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 251 


THE SEALED COVENANT 

Heb. 6 : 18. “That by two immutable things, in 
which it was impossible for God to lie, we might 
hare a strong consolation.” The Almighty made a 
covenant with Abraham and sealed it with His oath, 
saying, “Blessing, I will bless thee.” We believe 
God’s promises without His oath. We know that our 
hope is in His word like an anchor to the soul, both 
sure and steadfast, grasping the Rock of Ages. 

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will 
make a new covenant with the house of Judah; I 
will write my law in their hearts.” Jesus sealed this 
covenant with His blood, saying, “Drink ye all of 
this; for this is my blood of the new covenant.” It 
was a covenant of peace between God and man. By 
this covenant the sinner becomes a saint, the alien 
a citizen, the wanderer a son in the Father’s house. 
Christ’s promise is, “Come unto me and I will give 
you rest; I will be Christ in you, the hope of glory.” 
All we have to do is to come with yielding will and 
trustful faith. The Infinite does the rest. A Scotch¬ 
man once said, “It took two to convert me—I did 
everything I could against my conversion, and God 
Almighty did the rest.” 

When Christ came to die and to tell the world of 
His love, we resisted His pleadings and refused His 
promises, but those who did receive Him had power 
to become the sons of God. As God led Israel to 
Canaan, so He is leading us to the rest eternal. Our 
Lord will not fail to be discouraged. He has never 
wavered in His devotion, never failed in His prom¬ 
ises; He pardons, heals, uplifts the fallen and re¬ 
stores the blurred image of the Creator in the 
hearts of men. 





252 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


FAITH 

John 18 : 37. “To this end was I born, that I 
should bear witness unto the truth.” God’s truth 
is the glory of Himself and the universe. A living 
faith in divine truth is the ideal of human attain¬ 
ment. Faith is the connecting link between man 
and God. To say with Paul, “I have kept the faith,” 
is the climax of human triumph. This is the vic¬ 
tory that overcomes the world, even your faith. 
Faith in the truth makes one a possessor of the 
truth and a witness for the truth. Christ is truth 
incarnate; truth illustrated by life. 

Franklin, Morse, Edison, Bell and Marconi had 
faith in electrical energy. They showed their faith 
by their wonderful works—illuminating and pro¬ 
pelling a world. Paul fills his gallery of immortals 
with the heroes of faith; they believed in the divine 
electricity of spiritual power. Their fingers of 
faith touched the batteries of heaven till the bap¬ 
tism of fire fell upon them, glorifying their spirits, 
enduing their minds with power to propagate the 
Gospel among all mankind. 

Faith is the bridge across material discoveries, 
and spans as well the chasm between the human 
and the divine. Faith believes nature and nature’s 
God. It is the eye of the soul, seeing infinitely be¬ 
yond the eye of the body. It is the evidence of 
things not seen, the assurance of things hoped 
for. Faith beholds the footsteps of the Infinite, 
treading the battlefields of war-stricken countries 
after peace prevails. Losing faith in humanity, in 
organized governments, makes one repose more 
perfect faith in the most high God, whose Son 
Jesus Christ, will one day absorb all other king¬ 
doms in His kingdom and reign without a rival 
m the new heavens and the new earth. May the 
church of Christ believe in the mighty spiritual 






Meditations for the Quiet Hour 253 


truths which God has promised His children and 
become witnesses of Him unto the uttermost parts 
of the earth! 

THE POURING OF HIS SPIRIT 

Acts 2 : 17. “And it shaU come to pass in the 
last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit 
upon all flesh.” We have had the patriarchal, the 
Mosaic, the Messianic dispensations for the salva¬ 
tion of the race, and now we are in the final admin¬ 
istration of the diffusion of the Holy Spirit of God. 
He is everywhere present at the same moment; He 
takes the words of the prophets and of the Christ 
and applies all power, love and purity unto unbe¬ 
lieving hearts. He is God in spiritual life and 
transforming light. He makes application of the 
truth to the mind, of the blood of cleansing to the 
heart, of the love of God to the affections. 

With the Spirit’s baptism of power, we speak as 
witnesses for Christ and shine as lights in the 
world. We see visions of coming triumphs, grand¬ 
er than any in the past. By the Holy Ghost, God 
the Father and Christ the Son are with their 
people always, even unto the end of the world. 
In every assembly of the church, there the Holy 
Trinity is in the midst, pouring out the divine 
influence upon prayerful, trustful hearts. Oh for 
a new Pentecost that will endue all Christendom 
with the power of the apostolic church! Oh for 
a missionary revival that will begin where the war 
leaves off and enter upon the winning of the whole 
world for Christ, an evangelistic movement that 
will make Billy Sunday’s one hundred thousand 
converts in New York City seem as drops before 
the mighty shower! Then our God will open the 
windows of heaven and pour out such floods of 
blessing as shall cover the earth as waters cover 
the sea. 





254 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


THE NEVER-FAILING BOOK 

Ps. 19 : 7. “The law of the Lord is perfect, con¬ 
verting the soul.” The Bible in the home is the 
moral text-book for the family. It should be 
read, studied and taught every day of our lives. The 
wonderful Word of God is threefold in its influ¬ 
ence. It shows the evil of sin by both its precepts 
and its wicked characters. It reveals the Christ, 
the only Saviour of sinners, guiding the heart in 
its acceptance of Him. 

The Bible is literary, poetical, historical and edu¬ 
cational. Abraham Lincoln had only three books 
in his early manhood: the Bible, ^Esop’s Fables 
and Weems’ History of the United States. The 
Bible was the great Book that gave our martyred 
President his simple, tender, beautiful literary 
style, both for speaking and writing. The Fables 
gave him his story illustrations, while the History 
made him familiar with the great characters and 
events of the nation. Leave the Bible out of his 
life and he might have been a moral wreck; at 
least, there would have been no Abraham Lincoln 
as the world sees him today. 

Young man, the dust on your Bible may be the 
cause of your downfall—your failure in this life, as 
well as in the life to come. If you are not a lover 
of the Divine counsel, you will gradually drop out 
of the Sunday School, the church, the worship and 
service of the living God. You will become a 
stranger and foreigner when you should be a fel¬ 
low citizen of the New Jerusalem on earth and of 
the capital city of the Celestials in the heavenly 
world. When you see this red light of warning, 
heed it; step off the track leading to ruin into the 
way of holiness, happiness and usefulness forever. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 255 


TRUE WORSHIPERS I1V EVERY CHURCH 

John 4 : 24. “Cod is a Spirit, and they that wor¬ 
ship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” 

The Jews were mistaken in wanting the whole 
world compressed into little Palestine, and every¬ 
body to be worshipers in their synagogue. Some 
people are still thinking that they are the church, 
while all other Christian bodies are only meeting¬ 
houses. They consider that it is necessary to have 
a priest swing a censer, and to have a bishop in 
the original succession to dedicate a temple before 
they can truly worship. When Jerusalem and the 
temple fell into ruins and the great baptism of 
Pentecost came upon the Apostolic Church, true 
worship of the Lord God spread everywhere, and 
liberty to worship according to the dictates of 
one’s conscience became universal. 

Just as human love is expressed between child 
and parent, so our hearts go out in prayer and 
praise to our heavenly Father. Jacob found the 
house of God and the very gate "t>f heaven on the 
hillside. Anywhere in nature is a sacred place 
to a true worshiper. In making a journey, it 
is not the conveyance that is most important, but 
reaching the destination. In securing an educa¬ 
tion, there are many methods, but only one great 
result. So church and denominations are valuable 
as aids to worship, but are only instruments, aid¬ 
ing the individual soul in communicating with the 
invisible God. Christ is the one Tree of Life, with 
twelve manner of fruits representing different 
branches of worshipers, but all one in Christ Jesus. 
There are true worshipers in every church who are 
members of the great church triumphant whose 
walls are salvation and whose gates are praise, and 
who are members of the innumerable company in 
the general assembly of the church of the First¬ 
born in heaven. 





256 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


LOYING AND LIYING 

Isa. 38 : 17...“Thou hast loved my soul up from 
the pit.” Hezekiah when told by Isaiah that he 
must die, wept sore and prayed unto God. The 
answer came, “I will add unto thy days fifteen 
years.” Then Hezekiah sang a song of praise, “Thou 
hast loved my soul up from the pit of corruption; 
for Thou hast cast all my sins behind my back. The 
living shall praise Thee as I do this day.” 

It was God the Father's love that spared the 
king; He loved him up from the grave, loved him 
away from his sins, loved him out of the hand of his 
enemy, loved him with an everlasting love. 

When Christians live the love of Christ, we love 
souls up from the pit of ruin. A certain Christian 
Japanese teacher did not dare to teach Christianity 
to his pupils. He just lived the message, loved ths 
scholars, wept when he read the Bible to them, and 
ever prayed for them. He literally loved them to 
Christ. 

How beautiful the home life when parental love 
wins all the children into the kingdom of the Christ, 
when the earthly father is like the heavenly, when 
we live the message as Jesus did! He lived all He 
taught and loved more than He could tell. If noth¬ 
ing else is ours but God’s love, we are rich indeed. 
Love fears no overcoming power; it triumphs 
over death, hell and the grave. It is independent of 
prison cells, of wide distance, of all time and space. 

When Jesus showed the Father to men, it was in a 
single sentence—“God so loved.” Our love is but 
as the dewdrop of the ocean, but it is the same love 
lifted by the Sun of Righteousness and coming down 
like the rain on human hearts. It is like the atmos¬ 
phere, ever encompassing the soul, surcharged with 
life and love and blessing. Shall we not breathe it, 
believe it, receive it, and thus be like the infinite 
Lover of men? 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 25 7 


FAITH TRIUMPHANT 

Matt. 15 : 28. “0 woman, great Is thy faith.” 
Faith is the key to secular, as well as spiritual life. 
Christ says, “I am the door.” The key of faith will 
always open the door into Christ’s kingdom. The 
door of opportunity has been opened and nature’s 
wonders revealed by such men as Columbus, New¬ 
ton, Franklin, and Edison using this key of faith. 
Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. With- 
our faith it is impossibl to please God and to save 
men. Unbelief is the paralysis of the soul hinder¬ 
ing every movement towards truth and righteous¬ 
ness. Faith is the golden link connecting with the 
eternal throne of God. 

The Syro-Phoenician woman’s faith was especially 
distinguished because she persisted in believing not¬ 
withstanding the silence of the Master, who spoke 
not a word of reply. Falling at His feet, she cried 
still louder for mercy for her afflicted child. The 
more the disciples said, “Send her away,” the strong¬ 
er was her determination to stay. At last, when 
Christ put the sublime test to her great faith, say¬ 
ing, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread and 
give it unto dogs,” she, accepting the humble po¬ 
sition of a dog, cried out in piteous appeal, “Truth, 
Lord, yet the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from 
the Master’s table.” Then Christ’s heart of com¬ 
passion burst its bounds as He exclaimed, with 
matchless tenderness, “O woman, great is thy faith,” 
and her daughter was made whole from that very 
hour. 


THE PASSING WORLD 

John 18 : 36. “My kingdom is not of this world.” 
If there is no other world, there is no world here 
worth living for. Is it not the heavenly that gives 
reality to the earthly, that helps us rightly to estim¬ 
ate life’s real value? Does it not take two worlds to 





258 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


complete the circle of being, and is not the present 
only a little arc in that endless circle? 

How difficult it seems for some persons to real¬ 
ize that this world passeth away, but that the world 
kingdom of Christ endureth forever! His followers 
are pilgrims and strangers, seeking a better country, 
expecting the far more exceeding and eternal weight 
of glory that shall be revealed. Truly, the journey 
of life is only an episode before entering the 
great hereafter. Reaching the confines of the un¬ 
discovered country and crossing its threshhold is 
a supreme moment, the climax of human destiny. 
Some regard the ornamentation of the chariot that 
carries us as the chief occupation of the traveler; 
but social betterment should always be secondary to 
soul betterment. The one is external; the other, 
eternal beauty of character. Earthly comforts and 
riches have not yet made men holier. All social 
service, intellectual culture, philanthropic endeavor, 
and love of the beautiful should center in Christ and 
become active through His indwelling. How we 
live is more important than how long we live or 
how happily. Seek first His everlasting kingdom, 
and all lesser good will be added. 


THE FULL PRICE IS PAID 

Heb. 6:1. “Let us go on unto perfection.”—There 
are many beginners in the Christian life who never 
go on into perfect love and completeness in Christ. 
They are callers at the back door, waiting to re¬ 
ceive scraps, when they might enjoy the fulness of 
God’s blessing. It is said that a traveler who once 
took a trip on the Mississippi ate his meals for seve¬ 
ral days from a bag of crackers and cheese. At 
last, longing for a full dinner, he asked the purser 
the price of a meal. The reply was, ‘'Your ticket 
includes all meals.” Do not many Christian people 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 259 


deny themselves of the greatest blessings of God’s 
munificence, when they might continually enjoy an 
abundance of the divine presence, far above all they 
could ask or think? We all know that there is no 
extra charge for the baptism of the Holy Spirit for 
perfect love, soul purity and heart holiness. On 
Calvary, Jesus paid it all. The ruby drops of His 
precious blood wash all our sin away. 

What did Jesus say? “O fools, and slow of heart 
to believe.” “Behold, I send the promise of my 
Father upon you, that ye may be endued with power 
from on high.” Did not the loving father say to 
the cold-hearted elder son, “Son, thou art ever with 
me, and all I have is thine”? But he would not go 
into the feast of abundance, for he preferred the 
company of the servants, the crusts and crumbs. 

Christ’s redemption is a full, free and mighty 
salvation. Its joy is unspeakable and full of glory. 
Its hope is big as eternity; its peace is like the 
bosom of God. The Master calleth for thee, to 
climb the Alpine peaks of holiness. When you 
reach those summits, you will never after seek 

“To lay your finite measuring rod 
On the infinitude of God.’ ’ 


Matthew 5 : 41. “And whosoever shall compel thee 
to go a mile, go with him twain.” What must I do 
is the language of the first mile; what may I do, of 
the second. The first is narrow; the second an in¬ 
finite ideal. The first is the letter; the second is 
the spirit. The first is justice; the second, grace. 
There is no end to the second mile. The first mile 
of duty is a good beginning; the second mile of self- 
sacrifice is gilded all the way. Faith is the first 
mile; works, the second, for faith must walk on twc 
feet. John the Baptist was the preparatory mile; 





260 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


Jesus, the eternal journey. The strait gate is the 
first mile; the highway of holiness, the everlasting 
second mile. The Golden Rule is the first mile; the 
rule of Christ—“Love one another as I have loved 
you”—the second mile. The Pharisee went the first 
mile, measured it and stopped. The publican and 
prodigal went all the way. When a man compels 
you to go with him a mile and you willingly consent 
to go the two miles, he will come back with you. 
You have won him, and for yourself have changed 
duty into beauty, drudgery into delight. 


STANDING ALONE 

Hab. 2 : 20. “Let all the earth keep silence before 
Him.” A friend of the writer once visited West¬ 
minster Abbey and was deeply impressed with the 
solemnity of the surroundings. As she stood in the 
presence of so much departed greatness, the Divine 
Spirit seemed to fill the mighty building. While thus 
communing with the departed, and worshipping in 
the sacred stillness of that holy hour, a priest sud¬ 
denly entered and loudly muttered over, in an un¬ 
known tongue, some words of worship that seemed 
all out of harmony with the heavenly influences per¬ 
vading the place. 

In moments of overpowering agony, stillness of 
soul is almost expressive. Christ’s silence in His 
great sorrow may have been partly because of His 
aloneness. There were none with Him after the mob 
captured Him—every one turned to his own way. 
Judas betrayed Him, Peter denied Him, and the be¬ 
loved John, with the other disciples, forsook Him 
and fled. There the matchless Master in sacred si¬ 
lence stood alone among His tormentors. While the 
shadows murmur, the deeps of such unutterable an¬ 
guish are dumb. At such times words seem super¬ 
ficial, while silence is golden. 

Behold the Man of sorrows, while He treads the 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


261 


winepress alone. He has no crown but that of 
thorns, no robe but that of mockery, no kiss but that 
of treachery; no wonder He stood in the Godlike 
grandeur that was unspeakable. 

THE UNSEARCHABLE RICHES 

Eph. 3 : 14. “That Christ may dwell in your hearts 
by faith.” Paul, in Nero’s prison, hobbling about in 
chains, writes his parishioners of the Ephesian 
church, where he had served a three years’ pastor¬ 
ate, saying, “I long to come to you that I may tell 
you about the mystery hidden for ages of the un¬ 
searchable riches of Christ: how the Gentiles are 
made fellow heirs with us.” 

Was there ever a richer, tenderer, sweeter, more 
enrapturing prayer than the one Paul uttered in 
closing this chapter? 

He searched all his wonderful vocabulary for 
words strong enough to express the full meaning 
of his glorious vision of the Christian’s possibility in 
Christ. Listen to this paradox—“that ye may know 
the love of Christ that passeth knowledge.” That is, 
know enough to make a fulness for the finite of the 
infinite ocean; that ye may be able to comprehend 
the breadth of love divine, as wide as human needs; 
the length that sweeps through two eternities; the 
depth that touches the farthest-away sinner; the 
height that is side by side with the Saviour in glory. 

Think of what great requests can be put into 
language. But more—all we can think. Let imagi¬ 
nation fly the earth around. But more—above all 
we can ask or think, in the limitless beyond. 
Abundantly above all, beyond the unhorizoned 
realm of His Father’s possessions. Exceeding 
abundantly above all, according to the power by 
which He created the world and raised Jesus from 
the dead. Such is the ability and willingness of the 
Almighty to satisfy our fondest desire after spiritual 
good. 









262 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


THE MARTYR SPIRIT 

Dan. 3 : 18. “Bnt if not, be it known unto thee, 0 
king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship 
the golden image which thou hast set up.” Every 
true follower of Christ has the martyr spirit. He 
does not seem to redeem his life with the loss of his 
integrity. The convictions of these Hebrew heroes 
had reached permanency; not a nerve trembled in 
face of the fiery furnace. 

Are there not other fires as hot as the Babylonian 
burnings? Job in suffering could say, “Though he 
slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” Paul, before the 
bloody ax, exclaimed, “I am ready to be offered; I 
have fought a good fight.” Jesus warned His disciples 
not to be afraid of them that kill the body. 

The shield of faith protects every one as it did 
these Hebrew martyrs. The form of the Fourth is 
with you in every fiery crucible, which only burns 
away the bonds and purifies the spirit. Are not many 
persons silent in the presence of moral evil who 
should speak? But they fear to offend the king, the 
party, the social customs, the Babylonian usages. 
They compromise until influence becomes paralyzed. 

“I will take away your property,” said the judge 
to Cyprian of Carthage. “You cannot,” he replied, 
“for my treasure is in heaven.” “Then I will banish 
you.” “You cannot, for I can go nowhere where 
Christ is not with me.” “Then I will take your life.” 
“You cannot, for my life is hid with Christ in God.” 

Huss died for the truth; Luther lived for the 
truth. Let God decide which it will be for you. Some 
trust in princes, in powers of state, but we will 
trust in the God of love. He will deliver us. If we 
suffer with Him, we shall reign with Him in glory. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 263 


PRESSING TOWARDS THE GOAL 

Phil. 3 : 13. “Forgetting those things which are 
behind.” We are saved by hope; therefore, do not 
build your future on the past. Hope thou in God; 
bury your blunders as deep as the heavenly Father 
buries your forgiven sins. Mourning over failures 
impedes future victories, and contemplating losses 
turns the attention away from activity. Let the hel¬ 
met of hope flash the glory of possible future attain¬ 
ments over all the mistakes of the past. One can¬ 
not press onward toward the mark for the prize 
hampered and hobbled by regrets and sorrows. 

Hannibal lost Rome by tarrying after his great 
victory to rejoice over his successes. If he had 
pushed on, Napoleon-like, he would have ruled the 
world. Lot’s wife lost by just looking back. She 
lost time, opportunity, everything. Paul’s motto is a 
good one, “This one thing I do; I press toward the 
mark for the prize.” Those who hesitated to lose 
all at Pompeii, when the air was filled with fiery 
clouds of showering ashes, became encrusted petri¬ 
factions—monuments, speaking to all the world of 
their failure to use the precious moments in which 
to escape. 

Never hesitating in hours of exigency, never look¬ 
ing back at the evil that may overtake you, keeping 
your eye upon the goal, lay aside every weight, every 
besetting sin, and the unfading crown will be yours. 
Too much retrospection spells ruin. Looking unto 
Jesus as your pattern, guide and Saviour always in¬ 
spires activity. He is your prize, your heaven, your 
all; your past will never return, but Jesus will 
come to meet you. When you look joyfully forward 
to Him, you can look peacefully back. His for¬ 
giveness covers all the past and glorifies the future. 





264 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


THE TELESCOPE OF FAITH 

Faith is like a telescope. First, it believes in di¬ 
vine justice; pulling justice out far enough, it be¬ 
holds mercy. Another extension, and Christ, the 
Saviour of men, appears. Sometimes the dust of 
worldliness on the lens obscures the vision, or the 
almighty dollar or any intervening object. The eye 
will view the single object of Jesus only when all 
obstructions are removed. 

Is not this the secret of success in evangelism— 
faith in Christ’s Holy Spirit’s power? Everything 
else centers around His personality. The business 
management, the advertisement, the services, songs, 
sermons, appeals, personal work—all are corollary 
to Christ. Get Him in range of your full vision and 
your soul and services are flooded with light, vital¬ 
ized with power. “It is not by might nor by power, 
but by my Spirit, said the Lord.” When you see 
Jesus your telescope gets a sweep of eternity; the 
constellations of heaven are near, and you come to 
realize that only a moment of time remains, while 
immortality rolls on forever. 

While beholding the invisible the soul is willing to 
die upon its knees in order to win men. You cry, 
“Give me Scotland or I die.” “Save this people alive 
or blot me out of thy book.” “I could wish myself 
accursed for my kinsmen’s sake.” “Give me victory 
or give me death.” Are you conscious that you 
possess this love for men, this supreme passion for 
their welfare? Then you must become a mighty 
soul-winner. Your agonizing prayer will be, “Come, 
Holy Spirit; endue Thy Church with a new Pente¬ 
cost; breathe, O breathe upon every heart, upon 
every font of type, every singer’s voice, every min¬ 
ister’s sermon; fire every pulpit that multitudes may 
come to see them burn. Give the tongue of flame 
to every testimony till the gospel lightning flashes 
through the cities and countries of the world.” 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 265 


Faith in Christ is the famous lens that turneth 
gloom into glory, earth into heaven, death into life, 
a little perishing planet into a wide universe of 
worlds for the sweep of your vision forever. 

LUCK OR PLUCK 

Luck is a lost word; nothing goes hy chance in 
God’s world. Creating opportunities is better than 
waiting for them to turn up. There are supreme 
moments in business life which, if seized upon, lead 
to fortune. One should have pluck to grasp, to 
hold, to push on to victory, because it is darkest 
just before day. One more turn of the wheel and 
Columbus saw the Indies, the Puritans Plymouth 
Rock, and Edison the electric bulb and the phono¬ 
graph. “Sticking to it and keeping sweet” is a 
good motto. Remember God has called you to the 
work of your life and expects you to do your best. 
Often think of the words “Thou God seest me.” 
Work therefore under His loving guidance and you 
are sure to win. Pluck, grit, will power, hard work 
is the genius that conquers. 

Luck means the laggard, laziness, listlessness, al¬ 
ways falling down and pleading to be helped up or 
standing by a Wall Street ticker which never ticks 
right for you. Gambling on elections, races, prices 
till the last dollar is gone—this is the picture of 
many a man’s luck. No hero was ever made this 
way. A true Christian cannot live an aimless life. 
He must never look back nor down, but ever onward 
and upward. 

He wills to win, trusts to conquer because he 
knows immortal laurels await his brow. Haven’t you 
admired the boy who took down the little sign in 
front of a store, “A Boy Wanted,” and, carrying it 
in to the merchants, said, “You won’t need this sign 
any longer; here I am”? Who would doubt the fu¬ 
ture of such confident hope? 





266 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


GOOD AND EVIL 

Who can answer the question, whence and how 
came evil into our world? One poet says, “Evil is 
only another form of good. . . . Out of evil still 

educing good.” In this view, evil would seem to be 
a discipline for greater good. This would be true of 
suffering, but not of sin. But the heart of human¬ 
ity feels that evil ought not to be; that it must be 
overcome, or the universe will be a failure. Evil is 
possible to every human soul, and arises from the 
freedom of the will and from the power of choice. 
Satan fell from the heavenly estate seeking to 
usurp divine power; he chose rebellion instead of 
obedience. Almighty God had the choice of creating 
men or machines, and He decided to make man in His 
own image, and for His eternal family and fellow¬ 
ship. Man, being a creature of freedom, has the 
power to cast himself down the chasm of sinfulness, 
or to rise to goodness and greatness under the 
shadow and blessing of the Almighty Father. The 
moral law is God’s own individual nature. It could 
not be different. His throne would fall, endorsing 
evil. God ever says, “Thou shalt not.” Man re¬ 
plies, “I will.” 

Eternal justice must finally banish evil from His 
universal Kingdom of righteousness. Our Lord 
knew the source of evil when He said, “Out of the 
heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, 
fornications, thefts, false witnesses and blasphemy.” 
Here is the reason why a soul must be born again 
into the Kingdom of heaven, free from evil. As a 
judge must condemn a guilty criminal, so the Al¬ 
mighty must condemn the unrepentant sinner. He 
must protect His government against treason and 
rebellion, if He would preserve peace eternally in 
His universe. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 267 


PERILS OF THE TONGUE 

It is said of Rev. William Arthur, of England, the 
author of the celebrated book, “The Tongue of 
Fire,” that he was able to pray in half a dozen lan¬ 
guages, to preach in half a hundred more, and that 1 
he was able to hold his tongue in all languages. Is 
not this a remarkable Christian achievement? The 
apostle James writes: “The tongue is a fire, a world 
of iniquity, it is set on fire of hell; behold how great 
a matter a little fire kindleth.” He who by divine 
aid succeeds in controlling this unruly, untamable 
members, wins a victory worthy of emulation. 

An old wife said to her husband, as he was driving 
the team to market, “My dear, why can’t we live 
together as peaceably and harmoniously as these 
two old horses?'” He replied: “I will tell you why; 
they have only one tongue between them.” Fam¬ 
ilies that have a tongue apiece among them, and 
sometimes all on fire, are liable to kindle a great 
conflagration, which often spreads over many coun¬ 
tries of the world, while it takes other peoples years 
of struggle to make mankind safe from such burn¬ 
ings. 

Speak evil of no man, is a commandment hard to 
obey, but if the heart be pure, the words will not 
offend, for out of the abundance of the heart, the 
mouth speaketh. Yet we see statesmen maligning 
each other in a way that shames their dignity and 
impairs their influence. It is said that a certain 
statesman lost the presidency because he gave an¬ 
other eminent American a tongue castigation which 
was never forgotten. It was a high price to pay for 
the privilege of unbridled freedom of utterance for 
a few minutes. How many pay big money for failing 
to hold the tongue at the right time and place! 





268 


Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


“LET NO MAN TROUBLE ME ” 

Paul meant, let no man question my faithfulness 
to Christ, for I bear in my body the marks of loyalty 
to my Master. I bear in my soul the persecutions of 
pagans and Judaizers. Let enemies say what they 
will, I carry the evidences of my devotion to duty. 
No man can trouble me to harm me; I have suffered 
the loss of all things that I may win Christ, and I 
know He will keep that which I have committed to 
His care. I am willing to compare the marks of my 
devotion with those of any of my critics. “For me 
to live in Christ.” Who are these troublers living 
for? 

A story is told of a blind old man who went with 
his daughter Jennie to the cyclorama of the Battle 
of Gettysburg. As she was explaining the different 
scenes, the blind soldier exclaimed, “Is there a group 
of trees there?” “Yes.” “Are regiments marching 
up the hill? Is there a regiment of cavalry dashing 
down upon them?” “Yes,” said the daughter. “Is 
there a shell bursting right over them?” “Yes.” 
“Well, Jennie, that is the last thing I ever saw on 
earth.” Then he lifted his sightless eyeballs up¬ 
ward and said, “Oh, God, when I see my country 
united, happy and prosperous, I thank Thee that I 
was chosen to be one to help to bring it to pass.” 

Let no man trouble a faithful soldier who stood 
in the thickest of the fight in defense of his country, 
his home and his God. Let no man trouble a Presi¬ 
dent of the nation who is giving all his powers to 
guide the ship of state. 

It is blessed to know that no man can trouble 
the final victors, who have fought the good fight 
and are glorified together with Christ in His ever¬ 
lasting kingdom. 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 269 


SOUL VALUES 

“He that winneth souls is wise.” (Prov. 11 : 30). 
It is said that Daniel Webster once took off his hat 
to a little boy. When asaked why he did so, he re¬ 
plied, “I did so when I thought of the wonderful 
possibilities wrapped up in that little brain and 
upon what it would unfold in its generation.” Is 
it not a loftier deed to win a soul for Jesus than a 
world for self? A celebrated writer when dying, 
said to his wife, “In thy face, I have seen eternity.” 
So it was with the dying Greek, who, seeing love 
mantling the face of his beloved, exclaimed, “We 
shall meet again, Clemanthe.” The soul of man, a 
part of God and going back to God, is of infinite 
value. 

If we could see eternity in every face, immortal¬ 
ity imaged upon every soul would we not seek with 
greater enthusiasm to gather these precious gems 
for Christ’s crown. Seek as pearl divers do for the 
precious pearls? 

A feeling of diffidence, delicacy, embarrassment 
and fear of giving offense keeps many a Christian 
from the wisdom of soul-winning. Wilton Merle 
Smith, while a student in college, made a resolu¬ 
tion to win one every day for Christ. On the first 
day, evening came without keeping his promise. Be¬ 
coming desperate, he hurried up three flights of 
stairs to the room of a student friend. “What’s the 
matter, Billy?” said the student. “I have come to 
ask you why you don’t became a Christian.” The 
young man, bursting into tears, cried out, “I have 
been waiting several hours for you to come and ask 
me that question.” 





270 Meditations for the Quiet Hour 


THE GOOD SHEPHERD 


Mark Guy Pearse says: “Just think of a shepherd 
who should say to his lamb, ‘Little lamb, good¬ 
night; I am going home now, take care of yourself. 
Keep a sharp lookout; the old lion is about. If he 
comes, you know what to do, don't you?’ ‘No,’ says 
the little lamb. ‘Butt him,’ says the shepherd. Poor 
little lamb! How he trembles at the thought of 
meeting the lion alone. Ah, I know that lamb very 
well. I have seen him here in church. Poor, timid 
soul, afraid to look up. Behold the lion crouching, 
roars, springs. O, helpless lamb, one stroke of that 
paw and all is done. Blessed be His name, my 
Shepherd never saith good night. He says: ‘Little 
lamb, I will never leave thee; I will never for¬ 
sake thee. Keep close to My side, press up to 
Me. Run under the very shadow of My presence, 
and, when thou art at My right hand, no harm can 
befall thee.’ ” 


It is the delight of the shepherd to care for His 
flock unless He is an hireling who fleeth when 
trouble comes. How beautifully the prophet de¬ 
scribes the Good Shepherd: “He will feed his flock 
like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His 
arms and carry them in His bosom and will gently 
lead those with young.” What exquisite tenderness 
and gentleness are here expressed; yea, the Good 
Shepherd will even lay down His life for the sheep 
that there may be one fold and one Shepherd 





Meditations for the Quiet Hour 271 


LASTING INVESTMENTS 

“But he shall receive a hundred fold now in this 
time, with persecutions, and in the world to come, 
eternal life.” (Mark 10 : 30). Can you find any bet¬ 
ter paying investment than Christ offers? To double 
your money in any commercial investment is con¬ 
sidered the great achievement, but to double it a 
hundred times, to get ten thousand per cent, is a 
spiritual speculation that ought to attract every¬ 
body, and it is not a speculation, but a certainty, for 
there is no risk to run. The Banker guarantees the 
percentage, indorses drafts on heaven’s banking 
house, where payment has never been refused. 
These dividends last through eternal life. There is 
no war-risk in such investments. 

How can you hold back your little gift for Christ 
when He goes your security to the amount of His 
infinite riches? It is not making any sacrifice 
really, to surrender all for His sake, for it is becom¬ 
ing a partner to His throne. 

Remember the little clause in the deed of inherit¬ 
ance, “with persecutions.” But the greater the 
trials the greater the percentage. After all, it is 
not for personal gain, but for love of Christ that 
we come to Him. We give our all and He gives His 
all, not as a bargain, but as everlasting lovers in the 
friendships of eternity. 































































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